


Book 2: Storm

by NoMoshing



Series: My Isekai Life In D&D [2]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M, Harems, Mild Kink, Multi, Original Fiction, Sibling Incest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:27:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 117,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22318597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoMoshing/pseuds/NoMoshing
Summary: Book 2 of My Isekai Life in D&D. Theodore and company are tasked with looking into mass disappearances taking place in distant, isolated villages, far from any kingdom or authority. In order to seek the truth, Theodore will have to deal with goblin tribes, alien concepts of honour, secret societies and druidic cults.
Series: My Isekai Life In D&D [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1525025
Comments: 28
Kudos: 61





	1. Isekai Life & Circus

Two months have passed following my marriage to Katriana. Our days were generally slow-paced and idle, sometimes to the point of frustration. To the modern ear this sounds weird- what's so bad about not having anything to do for a month?- but in a world without easy access to video games, the internet, and everything else, it was remarkably difficult to find things to fill the hours.

The week and a half it look for Calliope's new spellbook to be written were the hardest. The combination of having servants to address our every need, our having explored the city fairly thoroughly during our adventures, and the added spice of the possibility of ambush from the Dwarven thieves' guild all combined to give us little reason to leave the palace.

We attended some court events that the Lord-Paramount held, just out of pure boredom. A couple of balls- Hawkins wasn't married and had need of an heir, after all- the official coronation, sometimes just sitting in on the court as Hawkins laid out pronouncements regarding laws and such. The latter were most interesting to me- while it had started out of idleness, watching Hawkins in action showed me just how little I actually knew about managing and running a nation. If I wanted to be a good king, I'd have to learn.

The most difficult were the balls, as, well, Katriana, Calliope and Ashryn were good looking women, and it was generally known that Katriana was also my sister. While, according to Bekker, rumour seemed to have it that both Ashryn and Calliope were my lovers, that didn't stop a great number of the eligible knights, functionaries and even well-to-do merchants of the city asking all three of my wives and fiancees for dances or to join them at table. They couldn't refuse too many however- it would create a lot of rumour, and we didn't want to become the target of other people's curiosity. It was a little hard for me to watch, even though I trusted the girls not to be seduced or fall for another man, but it was easier for my lovers to be polite-but-uninteresting eligible bachelorettes of the court than for them to refuse everyone and for us to become more of a curiosity. I had plenty of dances of my own from them, but we had to maintain a certain facade.

I attracted little notice myself. I suppose it was a cultural thing- the women here were looking to marry upward in status, while the men just wanted to secure a beautiful bride. I suppose you could say that almost no women seeking me out was a good sign. Either way, I generally ended up wallflowering with Voss and Enna. Once Enna received some basic instruction in formal dance from Calliope following the first ball, she ended up taking Voss and I for a spin or three on the dance floor. 

When we finally received Calliope's copy of the court mage's spellbook- a heavy-looking tome of freshly pressed paper bound in silver-stamped leather- we all agreed that we wanted to leave shortly, so that we wouldn't overstay our welcome. Immediately be began making preparations to leave.

Katriana had long since picked out a warhorse from the Lord-Paramount's stables, a towering grey stallion that had sort of a haughty nature, and certainly didn't like me, aiming kicks at me every time I walked behind. He came with chain barding and a massive war saddle, all of which we had to ask for a second chest just to carry around with us. The animal came with the ridiculous name of Shadebolt, as if whoever named it couldn't decide between which story to pay tribute to between the children's cartoon and the fantasy epic. He liked Katriana though, and she was very pleased with him, spending a lot of her spare time riding throughout the city and stableyard.

As for outfitting the rest of the party, Bekker and Voss went to the edge of the city and came back with seven horses, of a certain variety. For him and Enna, Voss had procured a pair of smaller, strong and quick warhorses, suitable, he said, for light cavalry. Unlike Shadebolt, who was built for shorter engagements where he'd need to be strong enough to carry a fully armoured warrior queen, the lighter horses wouldn't tire very easily, and could easily be used for hunting and scouting in the field. He took the energetic painted brown, who he named Stout, while Enna received a more even-tempered black horse.

We then had the challenge of teaching Enna how to ride the creature. Despite not having the proficiency for it, I at least could recall the basics of riding and had a decent muscle memory for it, a little bit like the dancing. Enna had never been on a beast's back in her life save being trussed across a donkey one time when she was arrested. Calliope spearheaded her education, and starting her on one of the porter donkeys in the palace, quickly worked her up to having a practical knowledge of riding. Enna wouldn't be charging into battle anytime soon, but she could at least ride her stallion, who she named Coal, without the beast getting too out of hand.

For the rest of us, Voss brought in a trio of smaller geldings, fit riding horses that were easier to control and use but would be more likely to panic in close combat. Calliope took the worst-tempered of the lot- a cream-coloured little guy that was fairly placid but liked to nip. She named the horse Buttermilk, maybe hoping that a sweet name would help make the horse's bad habit more tolerable.

Ashryn named her grey-streaked brown gelding Polaris, which was an odd name for such a peaceful, lazy animal. My horse turned out to be a tall, leggy silver who didn't seem to care about anything, having the same expression and attitude whether I was riding or not, and really only reacted to the offer of molasses treats. I ended up naming him Snacks for this, and also because I was pretty sure nobody else would ever name their horse “Snacks”.

The last horse was a big, wide-shouldered piebald draft horse. We purchased a small wagon to go with him, the intention being that we would put most of our baggage in the wagon and Bekker would pilot the lot. The term “piebald”- referring to the big horse's irregular splotches of brown and white- was new to Ashryn and gave her the giggles, so she ended up named the big horse Custard after her favourite kind of pie.

All this cost us nearly one thousand gold crowns, which I was less enthused about. We still had plenty of money, so I suppose it was all well spent, but I wasn't expected that level of investment. It was another almost seventy gold to get provisions, and to gather all these things, plus Enna's riding lessons, took a week to get together. But finally, we were able to make our goodbyes and hit the road.

Ricard Parett had left ages ago- just after the wedding, in fact- but when he left he reiterated his invitation. So, after some discussion, we agreed to take him up on his offer. He didn't live all that far from Tresens, and we might get a better of idea of where we want to go afterwards by paying attention to rumours on the road.

The road to Parett's vineyard was northwest, through the mountains and into a region known as the Lakelands, where much of the water draining out of the mountains formed a series of rivers and shallow lakes all throughout the lowlands on it's way to the sea.

The day that we loaded up the wagon and mounted our horses was unseasonably hot and grey. High, grey clouds clung to the mountain peaks, not quite threatening rain and seeming to trap the heat down here in the valleys. As we set out, and got up into the hills, the temperature cooled to a pleasant level, and intermittently in the heights we would get sprinkled with a refreshing drizzle of rain. Our road out of town took us by the tomb of Malgarath worshippers which we investigated during our very first quest in the area, which felt oddly nostaglic to me.

For three weeks we travelled from town to town. After all, we were travelling a well used overland trade route to Tresens, and so the road was pretty safe, at least through the mountains. It seemed every valley and vale had their own little village, and most days we were able to spend nights in an inn or at least as some remote farmer or goatherder's guests. Some lucky days we would lunch in one village then make it over the next rise to rest in another. 

Eventually, the road began to slope down one final time, and the great, wide vista of the Lakelands open out before us. A massive river- flowing from a different source and destined for a different ocean than the Islingquet- came out of a distant valley and shattered into the lowlands, creating a land where you couldn't be sure whether it was one river with a multitude of thousands of islands or a wide plain crisscrossed with hundreds of rivers. Lakes gathered, it seemed, wherever the rivers crossed, seeming to shine silver in the sunlight.

It was the first time Enna had seen any geography other than mountains and city, so despite the city awaiting below us, we stopped for our midday meal on that overlook, taking in the view. For her part, after staring in naked wonder for awhile, she seemed to recover and gave the vista a curt nod. “Uh, that's pretty flat,” she eventually commented, “Looks wet, too.”

We climbed down a winding mountain road into a large city at the very foot of the mountains. Though not more than third as large as Tresens, Osgoode Gate was sizable enough to have a city guard run by a captain-general instead of a mere shire-reeve, and a ruling class that straddled the line between nobility and merchant instead of a single knight or mayor. We had our choice of five different inns, and settled into a cute little place called the Duck's Foot Inn near the centre of town.

We were getting the horses settled in the stables. Enna and Voss were wrestling our chests into the rooms we had rented, while Katriana, Calliope and Bekker we brushing and patting down the horses. I was supervising, I suppose. I know that sounds silly or unfair, but I was concerned about the possibility of Katriana getting kicked by one of the horses and wanted to be on hand.

Suddenly, Ashryn came charging into the stables. “There's a circus!”

I goggled at her a moment. “What...?”

“There's a circus in town!” she said excitedly, “With a menagerie, too! Oh, please say we can go, Theo!”

“Oh, that's no problem,” I replied, “Just let's finish unpacking for the night first.”

From there, Ashryn went around recruiting a team to go visit the circus. Bekker and Katriana said they were too tired, and Calliope wasn't interested, but soon Ashryn, Voss, Enna and I were heading off through the town to go see the circus, with Ashryn skipping out in front of our group as excited as a schoolgirl.

...Which she kind of was? I don't know how old she is in human years.

Most of the circus was profoundly boring to me. Clowns, puppeteers, fire-eaters, acrobats... I grew out of that stuff a long time ago because it wasn't a luxury to me. Seeing a tightrope walker, for the last third of my life, was only a click away. Same with most of the creatures in the menagerie- most legit monsters are too dangerous to contain, but elephants and giraffes were nothing new to me. It was pretty great seeing my first owlbear, though.

It was near the back of the show, tucked away in a corner, we found the cage containing the “Incredible Dragon Girl”.

The first thing you noticed was the smell. The floor of her wagon cage was scattered with mouldering bread, putrid vegetables, and rotten meat. The “Dragon Girl” herself was seated against the far wall of the cage, legs crossed in the lotus position. Her midnight blue hair was matted and filthy, and her eyes were closed. Her ears were wide, webbed, flesh-coloured frills, and delicate, branchlike blue horns rose out of her forehead and swept back over her scalp. She was fascinating to look at... but she wasn't beautiful.

The reason for the spoiled food was obvious. She was starving herself. Her arms and legs were grotesquely thin, and her skin was cracked in bleeding in places. Her breasts- she was totally naked- hung against her chest like deflated balloons, and her ribs and cheekbones stood out like poles in a collapsed tent. It was a pitiful sight, to say the least.

“What the fuck?” Voss asked upon seeing her, “What did they do to this girl?”

“I don't think it's them doing it to her,” I said, covering my nose with my sleeve, “I think she's starving herself. They're treating her like an animal.”

“You want me to get 'er out of there, boss?” Enna asked, “We could let 'er go, easy.”

“She wouldn't get very far if it's that bad,” Ashryn replied, “Oh, the poor thing....”

I sighed. “Voss, go grab someone who works here, tell them I want to see the owner to make an offer on one of his... exhibits. Don't be afraid to swing for the fences either, if they don't take you serious mention that I'm a royal on vacation, and you're one of my knights.” 

“Uh... swing for the what now?”

I winced. Forgive me, Dog. “Just do your best, okay?”

Soon enough the ringmaster, a scrawny-looking woman with braided hair and a permanent scowl.

“What, you want to purchase the Dragon Girl?” she asked, incredulous, “Forget it, she is one of a kind.”

“Not for long. She's starving herself,” I replied, “And I'm not purchasing her. I want to know how much I need to pay you to let us take her without complaining.”

“I don't care what kind of prince you are, you don't have enough.”

“You know,” Enna broke in, examining her fingernails, “I wonder 'ow the town guard would react if they knew this 'ere circus had a thinkin', feelin' girl starvin' 'erself because some asshole stuck 'er in a cage.”

The ringmaster's scowl deepened. “Five hundred gold.”

“Done,” I said, mostly because I was annoyed and wanted to be done with this miser who pretended not to have a price. “Enna, open the cage. Voss, go fetch the coin from the inn, and a cloak while you're at it. Ashryn, why don't do you go buy a couple of those meat pies from the front gate.”

Enna got the lock open in short order- an act the ringmaster wasn't the least bit pleased by, and we had finally attracted the attention of the Dragon Girl herself, who would glance from her newly open cage to Enna and myself, her pale eyes glittering in the reddening late afternoon sunlight.

Voss and Ashryn returned, the annoying ringmaster was paid, and I took the cloak in my hands, and nodded at Enna. “Open the cage.”

It was firmly in my mind that I didn't know exactly what the Dragon Girl was capable of, or whether her self-imposed starvation had any real weakening effect on her. I wanted to help her, but she might not actually want to be helped.

“Uh, hello,” I said as I approached her cautiously, holding the cloak out like I was some kind of bullfighter. “Um, you're free to go. We can help get you clothes and food, if you like.”

“You're wasting your time,” the ringmaster snapped in the middle of counting her coin, “She doesn't understand common.”

I edged to within a couple feet of the Dragon Girl, and offered the cloak. “I come in peace, I promise,” I said, nervously.

For a long, tense moment, she just stared at me. Then, slowly, she rose on shaky legs, and stumbled towards me. I was able to catch her with the coat- noticing that her skin was made up of tiny flesh-coloured scales, edged with silver- and together, we made for the open cage door.

Once we were outside, Ashryn beamed at the Dragon Girl, and offered the meat pies. Tentatively, as if she couldn't quite believe what was happening, the Dragon Girl took them, but once she had a small taste, quickly devoured them.

After some debate, it was decided that Enna would carry the Dragon Girl to the inn- the Dragon Girl was very unsteady on her feet and couldn't support herself, and there was little Ashryn could do to heal her malnutrition. Voss would lead the way and keep the crowds off, and Ashryn and I would follow.

As we were walking, the Dragon Girl couldn't keep her eyes off of me, to the point it was somewhat unsettling. I found myself glancing at her frequently. Eventually, I just gave in, and decided to do the obvious thing.

I smiled uncertainly and tapped my chest. “Theodore,” I said.

The Dragon Girl opened her mouth, and coughed gently, a moment. Then, in a gravelly, strained voice, she replied.

“Yua.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)  
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent

Money: 100 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Runed Greatsword, Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, Magic Arrows (12), Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 299 pp, 2636 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	2. Isekai Life & Baby Talk

Such as they were, introductions were completed when we got Yua back to the inn. While Bekker, Calliope and Katriana were surprised at the sudden new dragon-person in their midst, nobody had a problem with what I did. Yua was obviously in a bad way, and none of my friends, lovers and retainers were cruel enough to complain about the price of having essentially freed a slave of an unknown race who we know nothing about and who might disappear the second we're not looking or hold a grudge against humans in general. Until she ran off or murdered me in my sleep, though, Yua seemed pretty content to eat all the food we put in front of her and get doted on by Ashryn.

Communicating with her was challenging. I tried every language I knew on her- even orc and goblin- but nothing seemed to get through to her. She seemed to react a little to certain words of Draconic, but not enough to be useful. She was bright enough to pick up on hand signal, and a few words of common, however.

We spent a week in town, replenishing our supplies, nursing Yua back to health as well as getting her clothes and other such things that she might need on our journey. It wasn't long before Yua was recovered enough to be able to walk on her own, but we stuck it out just to make sure that she wouldn't collapse on the road or anything. Bekker ended up proposing that, for now, she could work her way as a servant with the same expectations he operated under- she would pay her way with work until she left or she she knew enough Common to negotiate something else. So, Bekker would train her as a servant the best he could.

The day before we were going to leave, I took her down to the stables, and showed her the wagon and horses. “Tomorrow at dawn,” I began miming sleep and then waking up, “Once everyone is awake, we're continuing our journey,” I mimed a pair of legs with my fingers, walking across an imaginary horizon. “You'll be riding in the wagon with Bekker,” I said, patting the bench on the wagon.

Yua mutely watched this whole show, then responded in her own language, following it up by gesturing with her open palm, then making a tight fist.

I shrugged. “I hope there won't be trouble,” I said, shaking my head and making a warding gesture with my hands, “But if there is, Katriana, Voss and Enna are strong fighters,” I finished by miming drawing a sword, “And Ashryn, Calliope and I can use magic,” I finished by doing the gesture for Burning Hands, hoping that maybe magic is universal to a degree and Yua would be familiar with it.

She gave me a puzzled look for a second, then replied in her own language, mimed gripping something in front of her with two hands, and then swung an imaginary sword in the air.

“Well, I don't know how much of a warrior you are,” I said, shrugging, “But maybe you ought to wait a little longer before asking to carry a sword,” I finish by reaching over and tapping her too-skinny arm on the bicep.

She gave me a furious look, turned on her heel and stalked off. I could only sigh- who knows what she was really going on about? Maybe in her culture unwelcome touching is a grave insult or something. I could only hope that she didn't hate me over the exchange.

From Osgoode Gate, it was another week of travel across the Lakelands to get to Ricard Parett's vineyard. Despite our last exchange, Yua willingly rode alongside Bekker in the cart, and we were able to make good time despite the winding and occasionally confusing path we had to take. 

Finally, our two-month journey came to an end, as we entered a village known as Pendleton, and a few hours beyond that, the Parett estate.

He must have spotted us riding up, because Ricard himself was there to greet us at the estate gate. Smiling broadly, clad in an embroidered doublet with a longsword at his side, he stood by as a pair of servants wrestled the wrought iron gate open. “Here I was thinking that nobody was going to take me up on my offer,” he said as I dismounted to lead Snacks through, “Now that I see your whole entourage, I can see why. It must have taken forever to get that cart through the mountains.”

“It wasn't as hard as you'd think,” I replied, “Though we were laid up in Osgoode Gate due to unrelated business.”

“Of course, of course,” he grinned, then turned away from me and bowed. “My lady,” he said, stepping forward to take and kiss Katriana's hand. She smiled wanly, and seemed a little pale.

“Lord Ricard, thank you again for inviting us,” she said, “Traveling through the Lakelands has been lovely. Your home is rich in natural beauty.”

“Thank you, although I'll leave the credit to the gods,” he replied with a laugh, “Come, allow me to introduce you to the lady of the manor.”

He lead us onto the estate and showed us to the stables. Bekker and Yua busied themselves with unsaddling and putting away the horses, while the rest of us moved on to the main building- a large but not ostentatious plantation home, that looked comfortable and luxurious for a small family and some servants. The majority of the estate, though, was functional- the vineyards themselves covered most of the property, and there were half-dozen buildings of various sizes for the winery itself.

At the front entrance of the manor, waiting for us, was an older woman, perhaps just starting the edge one her sixties. “Theodore, Katriana, and friends, this is my wife, the sorceress Mia Parett,” Ricard introduced ostentatiously.

“Oh, please,” Mia said, waving a hand, “I haven't cast a spell in anger in years. Ricard has done a good job of keeping us all safe... although I have you all to thank for keeping him out of trouble, I hear.” She stepped forward to start shaking hands. 

“It's no trouble at all, my lady,” I replied when it was time for her to shake my hand, “Ricard was the first person to hire Katriana and I as adventurers, so it seemed that not letting his soul be devoured was the least we could do.”

From there, we were ushered inside, and shown to our rooms. “Unfortunately, we only have two guest rooms,” Mia said as she showed us two large rooms each with a pair of double beds, “You'll have to a get a little cozy, we weren't expecting quite so many of you.”

“Oh, I'm sure we can make do,” Voss said with a grin, then clapped me on the shoulder. “Enna and I ought to go help Bekker get the luggage up here, we'll be back.”

Mia then showed up where the bathhouse was and we were given time to wash up and get changed ahead of dinner. You don't really appreciate the modern convenience of paved roads and fully-enclosed vehicles until you've ridden a horse down dirt roads for months and found how quickly the grime accumulates. Unfortunately, their bathhouse was similarly small, with a pair of tubs separated by a screen. We had to go in shifts, Voss and Bekker, Katriana and I (Ricard knew us as brother and sister, after all, and not husband and wife), Ashryn and Yua, Calliope and Enna.

I was enjoying a good long soak in the hot water, when I felt someone poke my arm. I opened my eyes, to see Katriana standing over me, naked except for the towel she had folded over one arm.

“We need to talk, Theodore.”

Is there any other sentence that a woman can say to a man that would cause more anxiety? I sat up in the tub, and she slipped in herself, sitting at the other end facing me. It was a little cozy, but I didn't mind. Despite my concern, a certain part of me started to stir at the prospect of what sharing a bath with Katriana might mean.

Katriana didn't seem so aroused though. She studied me face a moment, before she sighed, looking away. “I think I'm with child.”

Rather than attempt to lie, I just leaned right into it. “I know.”

She tilted her head and looked back at me. “You do?”

I nodded. “You've been getting nauseous really easily lately, especially in the morning. You've also been eating more, you haven't been putting your armour on, and get really tired in the evenings... and the same with Ashryn,” I replied, “So I've suspected you've both been pregnant for a little while.”

Sorry for lying, my darling wife, but telling the truth in this situation would be worse! I had been scouring both girls for what I vaguely remembered as the early signs of pregnancy just for this moment, and it wasn't easy coming up with things.

Katriana put a hand on her stomach. “Ashryn, too... our child is going to grow up with a brother or sister.” She smiled. “I'm glad. Our child will have a sworn protector, just like me to you.”

I smiled back, but then braced myself. “Well, you're going to like this less... I'd like you to stop adventuring until the baby is here.”

Katriana's smile vanished. “You want me to what?”

“You and Ashryn both,” I explained, “I have more than enough protectors in Voss, Calliope and Enna, and I don't want any harm coming to you or our children.”

“Theodore, I swore! While you were still in the cradle, I-”

“I understand, Katriana,” I said, reaching over to pat her thigh, “You've protected me my entire life. But now, we have something we both need to protect. Something more important than either of us.”

My wife still looked uncomfortable. “You're asking a lot.”

“I know,” I replied, “But I think it's time you stopped being my protector and started acting more like my queen. We are going to have a heir, now, and child that is born of our love for one another. And we've got to do what's right for them.”

Katriana turned in her seat,came up between my legs and laid back, leaning against me. She took my hand and laid it on her stomach.

“Our child,” she said, simply. Then, “Do you want a boy or a girl?”

I thought about it a moment. “I want what you want,” I said, finally, “I'm probably going to have more children than I can count, but you're only going to have a twelfth as many, so I'd rather you get what you want. That said, things are a lot simpler if only you have boys.”

Katriana sighed. “Well, we're already going to be breaking all the laws to make our marriage, and all your other marriages, legitimate,” she replied, “We don't have to keep male primogeniture, either.”

“I suppose so,” I said, “But you're going to be my high queen, right? I only want your children to be in line for the throne.”

Katriana giggled. “We're talking about a throne we don't even have yet, you know.”

“We will, someday. We might be taking it with our child armed and armoured next to us, but we will, someday.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)  
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent

Money: 100 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Yua (Servant)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Runed Greatsword, Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, Magic Arrows (12), Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 299 pp, 2636 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	3. Isekai Life & Party Split

Breaking the news to Ashryn was a lot easier in comparison, and it didn't involve any disappointingly non-erotic bathtub conversations.

While she was getting dressed after her bath, I broached the subject with her.

“You're pregnant, aren't you, silverheart?”

This made Ashryn grow a small smile. “Yes, I've thought so for awhile now. It's lovely, isn't it? Is it okay if I imagine it happened the first time? It's probably not true, but it would be more romantic if it were.”

Oh, how little you know.

“I think that's just fine,” I replied, “It's not like anyone would be able to prove us liars, so let's agree that its true.”

Ashryn's smile widened. “I'm carrying my beloved prince's child. I don't know if I'm ready for this, but it's exciting anyway. I wonder if it'll be difficult to continue travelling with a baby?”

“Well, about that,” I began, “I'd like you and Katriana to take a break from adventuring until the children get here-”

Ashryn's eyes went wide, and she jumped up, clasping her hands. “Katriana and I are going to be mothers together!?”

Katriana got up from where she was sitting, curled up on a lounge chair, and gave the ecstatic elf a hug. “Regardless of what happens, we're going to be a family together, so let's support each other as mothers.”

“So you're okay with taking time off from adventuring, then?” I asked Ashryn.

“Well, I'm a little worried about you being without healing magic,” she replied, “But we have to do what's best for the children. Just... promise to keep your eyes open for a healer you can recruit, even if its only temporary.”

“I promise,” I said with a smile.

So, that was done.

When we were all washed and dressed appropriately, we joined the lord and lady of the house for dinner.

The food was fish and vegetables, generally, and almost everything had grapes or wine in it. Wine-baked fish, a wine-based fish stew, salad made with grape leaves, grapes and nuts, grapes and cheese to eat with your hands, and more. As a lifelong grape hater, I didn't love the dinner, but I found things to enjoy about it. The stew especially was nice.

Conversation over dinner was dominated with a discussion of Ricard and Mia's old adventuring tales, peppered with bits of advice on this and that aspect of travelling the world and making your way as wandering adventurers for hire. I was somewhat fixed on my own problems, though. Ashryn had made a legitimately good point- could we continue travelling with babies in tow? Or was it healthier to settle down somewhere for a time? 

I was startled out of my reverie by Ricard clearing his throat suddenly. “Actually, it's fortuitous that you all arrived when you did. Three days ago, I had received a messenger who begged for my help investigating some strange occurrences in the Lakelands, but I've sworn off adventuring for good. However, knowing that I was expecting you or possibly the knights from Tresens as guests any day now, I promised to pass the message along.”

Calliope frowned. “Strange occurrences? What kind?”

Ricard put his cutlery down. “Mass disappearances. Villages robbed of their citizens along the northern edge of the Lakelands, gone without trace or sign of struggle. Hearthfires still burning, tables still set with meals, as if everyone just walked into the night and disappeared. According to the few survivors, a mist rolls in at nightfall, and something within that mist... takes people.”

Calliope and I exchanged glances. “Obviously this sounds magical in nature....” I began.

Mia nodded in agreement. “It could be some kind of sorcerer using a combination of summoned fog and mass hypnosis, but I can't be certain without going and checking myself.”

“Or it could be something worse,” Ricard added, “Potentially a Mist Dragon. What's important is that someone needs to investigate before any more people disappear. Now, the towns and villages of the Lakelands aren't strongly affiliated, but I've since contacted some of the mayors and landed knights of the area. They will be sending me rewards to hold in trust for your success, and I will match every penny they donate out of my own treasury, in either magic items or gold.”

Wow, that's actually pretty good, depending. It kind of sucked not having an exact figure on it, but Ricard seemed like a decent enough person that he wouldn't let the Lakelanders screw us.

“Well, there is another issue,” Katriana interjected, “If we were to help... not all of us can go. We were discussing it earlier today, but Ashryn and I are with child. We decided that until the child are here, we can't be involved in combat, and ought to travel as little as possible.”

Now it was Mia and Ricard's turn to exchange glances. “I suppose we can host some of you while your investigation takes place,” Mia replied, “That way you can determine for yourselves when the reward money starts accumulating, rather than simply entrusting it to us.”

I gave it some thought. “There's the possibility of the mist arriving here while we are investigating. I'd like to, ultimately, leave four people here. Ashryn, Katriana, one of our more able fighters, and one of our servants. That's half of our party, a lot to ask of you, but we won't need two servants on the road, and I'd rather my sister and fiancee be protected while we're away. Would that be acceptable?”

“Certainly,” Ricard replied, “That sounds very fair. Handling the additional guests would be a lot easier with their own servant to take care of them.”

I nodded. “Well, unless there are any objections, then I think we will undertake this quest, for the people of the Lakelands.”

Why was I so eager to get started? Well, some of it had to do with being idle for so long. Some of it had to do with how much money we had spent- purchasing Yua aside, we had spent hundreds of gold just on inns and supplies during our travels, and our war chest was dwindling at an alarming rate. Finally, magic items- despite our luck with drops- were supposed to be pretty rare, and a chance at an experienced adventurer's personal hoard had the potential to be pretty great... even if that adventurer was still convinced that a Ring of Delusion was an item of great power.

There were no objections, so I pushed forward. “We'll need a map with locations of the missing towns, if that's possible.”

“Certainly,” Mia replied, “I can dig up a map and mark which towns are missing. I'll bring it to you as soon as I can.”

And just like that, dinner was adjourned. As we headed upstairs to await this map, I grabbed everyone's attention, and we met up in Voss, Enna, Yua and Bekker's room to discuss our plans.

“So, just like that, half of us are staying behind?” Voss said bitterly as soon as the door was shut. I winced, but was glad he didn't try to speak out against me in public. Quiet support in public, but unafraid to question orders in private- that was surely a good quality in a knight.

“Just like that,” I echoed with a sigh, “Ashryn and Katriana need to stay out of combat for the next seven months or so. Someone needs to be around to protect them, and four of us don't need two servants, one of whom is over sixty. Sorry, Bekker.”

“No offence taken, your grace,” the old butler replied, “I appreciate your concern for my wellbeing, even if you are being a touch overprotective.”

“Great, so the rest of us will just walk into danger at half-strength,” Voss complained, “So who's getting left behind, then, your grace.”

“Well...” I thought about it. If this mist thing is magical in nature, it would help to have both Calliope and I there to deal with it. As for which of our other knights will accompany us....

“'Scuse me, your grace, but I'd like to volunteer to protect my queen and Ashryn.” 

Enna has stepped forward and knelt in front of me, one hand over her heart and the other on her shortsword. It was a little bit comical given our relatively informal circumstances, but I understood- she was trying to be serious. Oddly, I noticed Yua's eyes go and wide and she took a step back.

“Lady Enna of Shafttown,” I said, matching her formality, “Why is it that you put yourself forward like this to protect the queen and the bearer of my children?”

She shifted a little, anxiously. “Well, your grace, Lady Ashryn's been teachin' me my letters, an' I'd hate to start missin' lessons just as I was gettin' good at 'em.”

Well, that was something new- I hadn't realized Enna was illiterate. “Very well, you may undertake this duty and continue your lessons,” I replied, then looked over and made eye contact with Voss and Calliope. “Lady Calliope, Sir Voss, will you accompany me on this quest?”

Calliope smiled and gave a firm nod, but Voss matched Enna dropping to once knee and putting a fist over his heart. “Yes, your grace, if this is what you ask of me.”

“Alright, at least that is settled....” I began, when suddenly Yua stepped up beside Voss, fell to both knees, and pressed her forehead to the floor. She said something completely unintelligible in her own language- she had picked up a word or two here and there of Common, she knew yes and no, and seemed to understand phrases like “come here” and “take this”, but her own tongue was still a complete mystery to the rest of us- and judging by the length, it was quite a rant.

I was stunned, even as she finished up, and couldn't think of anything to say. I did catch Calliope putting a hand to her mouth to suppress a giggle, however, and looked to her.

“She just realized that you don't just lead us all, but you're our prince,” she said with a smirk, “That must mean something to her.”

“Ah, right.” I knelt in front of Yua, and gently took her hands in mine, and helped her back up to her feet. “You don't have to kowtow like that, Yua,” I said gently, “I know you don't understand, but they're my knights, so it's their job to do that. Until you know enough to swear to me, I can't accept any vow you make.”

She looked absolutely dumbstruck by this gesture, and looked down at her hands in amazement. I shrugged. “Maybe where she's from, the kings are worshipped like gods?”

“I doubt you'll be able to convince her to remain behind now, though,” Calliope replied, turning to Bekker, “Take care of my sister-wives, alright? Their every need should be seen to.”

The butler bowed. “Of course, Lady Calliope.”

Our party was set... now we just needed to know where we were going.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)  
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent

Money: 100 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Yua (Servant)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Runed Greatsword, Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, Magic Arrows (12), Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 299 pp, 2636 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	4. Isekai Life & Last Goodbyes

When the map was delivered, lacking a table, we unrolled it on one of the beds. The map was of the Lakelands only, with the northwestern edge being dominated by the coast touching the Sapphire Sea, which all these lakes emptied to. Osgoode Gate, from which the mountain path to Tresens began, was near the southeast corner. While the map didn't have an official measurement, considering Pendleton was in the bottom-left, we had some idea of the distance- three-quarters of the map was about a week's travel. A little less than three-quarters, because Pendleton was further north than Osgoode Gate.

Other towns sprinkled the map. The three northernmost towns- Temple Meadow, Birchen, and Felldarrow- were circled in red, and including Pendleton and Osgoode Gate, there were about a dozen others. Unfortunately, the closest of the circled towns appeared to be at least a week's journey away, meaning that this wouldn't be a casual trip.

Calliope tapped part of the map. “What's the 'Misty Kingdom'?”

I looked where she was tapping. The northwestern corner of the map was vaguely shaded in with green, bordered by mountains, and labelled the Misty Kingdom.

“Must be some settlement or town or something that they don't allow outsiders in,” I mused, “But that title is certainly concerning, considering what's happening. If they have some special power over fog, it's worth investigating.”

I glanced over other points of interest on the map. The land was dotted with circles of stone, some near towns, some not. There was a barrowlands noted near the centre of the map, and an island fortress near the coast. South of the island fortress was a noted shipwreck, and finally, the southern line of the map, was noted something called “Tallyman's Stand”, with no indication of what that might be. All of them were possible dungeon locations, and all were probably worthy of checking out if we had time.

“So,” I began, “Our first step, I think, is to head north, crossing the Lakelands to Birchen.” I tapped the red-circled town immediately north of us. “If we don't find the answers we seek, it will be across the north, visiting Temple Meadow, then Felldarrow. One of these places has to have some kind of clue as to what's going on.”

“Alright, so when do we leave?” Voss asked.

I rubbed my chin and thought about it. “As soon as possible,” I decided, “Travel time is going to be a pain. We're going to lose so many days in the saddle, I don't want to want any being idle if I can help it.”

Excitement over finally doing some real adventuring had replaced the earlier dismay on Voss' face, but Ashryn and Katriana looked disappointed. I could hardly imagine why, their lover and husband going off so suddenly after deciding to leave them behind.

I rolled up the map and handed it to Voss. “We're going to need more information the Misty Kingdom and Tallyman's Stand if you don't mind hunting down Ricard.”

Voss took the map. “No problem, your grace.”

I then looked at Bekker. “We'll need provisions for a two-week journey for four.”

He knuckled his forehead and bowed in acknowledgement.

I then turned to Calliope. “Come on, we need to decide what else to pack.”

Enna left with Bekker to help the old man scare up some supplies, while me and four beautiful women (okay, three beautiful women and one girl who who recovering rather nicely from malnutrition) went back to the other room, where I slipped the key out of my sleeve and clicked open my storage chest.

We had long since organized our stored wealth into bags of about 250 gold pieces (or equivalent) each. It was four of these purses I removed from the chest. I then regarded our magical items. I grabbed the pouch with the three magical potions, mostly because they were easy to transport and you never know what you'd need as an adventurer.

Katriana indicated the sheaf of runed arrows. “Voss has a shortbow, you might need those.”

I glanced at her quizzically. “I gave them to you, though.”

Katriana frowned at me. “I'd rather a live husband than some arrows. Take them, alright?”

It seemed a little dramatic of her, but I shrugged and added the arrows to the little pile I was making. Finally, I took up the black steel broadsword. Hopefully, its magical properties would help make up for any untrained penalty.... I stood and turned towards Yua, offering the sword to her handle-first. “I know this is probably strange to you, but I'd rather-”

Yua shook her head. “No.” She pointed to the chest and said something in her own language.

I glanced at the chest, where the two larger swords were lying. “They're going to be really heavy compared to this one.”

“No,” she repeated firmly.

I returned to the chest and started to lift out the bastard sword, only for Yua to sigh in exasperation, and repeat herself again. “No.”

Hesitantly, I raised the greatsword. Yua nodded solemnly, and told me something in her her language again.

“Alright, then,” I said, putting the broadsword back. “I hope you know how to use this, because the bigger ones aren't always better.”

When I rose, Yua knelt, raising her open hands above her head to accept the sword. I laid it in her hands carefully, half-expecting her still too-think arms to be unable to support it, but she seemed fine. She chanted something in a way that seemed ritualistic, before rising and giving me a deep, straight-backed bow.

Katriana, meanwhile, was already going through her chest and bringing out bits of her old splintmail. “Yua's hips are wider, but this should help a little, though when you have time you ought to find someone to alter it for her.”

“I was just giving her something to defend herself with....”

Katriana turned, hauberks in hand, and help it up to Yua's chest, gauging the size. “Did that whole ringamarole with the kneeling make her look like an untrained warrior?” Katriana asked, “Give her a try. In the worst case, you have to protect her like you already intended to.”

I could sense some flaws in her argument, but looking at Yua in the context of this being my Heaven, what she said made sense. Yua was probably intended to be another party member. I needed to stay aware of my meta-play, it was getting too easy to just wrapped up in the setting and missing out on these clues.

After that, everything had been delegated away. Katriana was busy trying to fit Yua into her old armour. Bekker and Enna were gathering supplies, Voss was gathering information on the map for us. I had divvied out the gold and magic items I thought we'd need, and Calliope volunteered to distribute them.

Ashryn came over to me, and kissed me gently on the neck. “You're going to say goodbye properly to Katri and I tonight, right? We're going to miss you dearly....”

I slid a hand down Ashryn's back, and softly stroked her ass while I watched Katriana fuss over Yua. She sighed appreciatively, wiggling her bottom to encourage me. Soon, Calliope was back after dropping off the gold and arrows for Voss, and settled in under my other arm. “Don't forget me, we've haven't had a good featherbed for a week and we're leaving on the morrow....”

I sighed theatrically and helped myself to a handful of Calliope's bottom as well. “I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for everyone.”

But now I was praying for everyone to finish up soon.

Voss was the first to return, handing the map back to me. “Tallyman's Stand is an old battlefield, said to be haunted,” he replied with a shrug, “Mia think it's an old wives' tale, though the battlefield is real. The Misty Kingdom is a community of forest elves that keep to themselves. They have some kind of enchantment of the woods they live it that gives it the name, might be a coincidence, might not.”

I nodded. The Misty Kingdom just might be suspect, then. “My instincts tell me that they might not be involved, as being known as the 'misty' kingdom then attacking within a fog is kind of a giveaway, but elves are known for employing warriors who are both fighters and mages, so that could just be a kind of combat tactic from them. Still, worth checking out.

“Now, if that's all, do you mind heading off Bekker and Enna, and making sure that we're not disturbed?” I asked, tentatively, acutely aware of how... cuddly Calliope and Ashryn were being in front of Voss.

He seemed to get the picture, and broke out in a wide grin. On his way out, he collected Yua from Katriana, promising to help the dragon-girl sort out her new armour in the other room. When Katriana glanced over at the rest of us and realized why he was in such a rush to leave, she flushed bright red.

“I hope that's not you trying to be be subtle, becau-”

I seized her by the waist, pulled her into my arms, and gave her a deep, searching kiss. I could feel her initially flinch away from my tongue as it explored her mouth, but she soon accepted it, and even teased her way into my mouth a little. I broke off with her, and, leaving one hand arm her waist, seized Calliope by the back of the mage's neck and pulled her in for a similar kiss. By the time I released them both, Ashryn had moved in like an excited puppy, and I kissed her deeply, too.

While I was locked with Ashryn, Calliope started to undress me while Katriana shrugged her way out of her own clothing. Abruptly, I realized I was being lead away by Ashryn, and when I felt the edge of the sofa she helped me down onto it.

Ashryn got up on the sofa next to me and leaned in, kissing my neck. Calliope began shrugging out of her robe, but Katriana put a hand on her shoulder. “Your princess demands time with your prince first,” she said gently, giving me a naughty smile, “Although, if you treat us well, maybe he will choose you next.”

Calliope looked disappointed, but offered a small curtsy. “As you wish, your grace.” My court of lovers is very polite in private, it seems.

Ashryn had been busy, stroking my cock until it was rigid and ready to receive a woman. Katriana turned and spread her legs, before sending a hand to gently pull apart her labia and ease my entrance as she impaled herself on my rod. I could feel a shiver run through her, as she settled back, my manhood pressed inside her to the hilt. She was wet and ready and deliciously soft, but inside of riding me right away, she settled back against my chest first. Gently, she took my hand and pressed it against her abdomen.

“Your heir is growing in here,” she said softly, “You poured your seed inside your unmarried sister, you naughty prince, over and over again until it took, and now I'm carrying my brother's child.”

“Well, except my sister is married, now,” I replied, sliding my hand downward ever so slowly, “But does that bother you, to be carrying your brother's child?”

“Not in the slightest,” she moaned as my finger found their way to her clit, “Nobody in the world has a love like ours, and I hope I can give you more heirs, all the children you want.”

“Well, maybe not right away,” Calliope added, “Travelling with a child is going to be difficult enough without you getting knocked up all the time, your grace.”

But if Katriana was listening, she gave no sign. My teasing of her clit finally got her moving, and she was starting to ride me, her moist tightness running up and down the length of my shaft. Giggling, Ashryn leaned in a continued peppering my neck and upper chest with soft kisses.

It was Calliope who did the most surprising thing, though. She finished getting out of her clothes, sank to her knees in front of me and Katriana, lowered her head and started licking my balls and shaft, including, more than a little bit, running her tongue over Katriana's labia. I had no idea Calliope was so into having group sex that she was willing to lick my wife's pussy, especially considering that she seemed reluctant to begin with.

It drove Katriana wild, though. Between riding my iron hard cock, my teasing of her clit, and Calliope licking at us both, Katriana was riding me harder and harder, the room filling with the sounds of our sex and her moaning. I found myself wrapped up in the sensations myself, with one fiancee kissing me, while my wife rode my cock and another fiancee licked us both.

Katriana came hard, seizing the arm of the couch with one hand and Calliope's head with the other and shuddering with the force of her climax. The feeling of her orgasming on my cock triggered my own climax, filling me with pleasure as I filled her with cum.

She collapsed back into my arms for a moment, resting. She turned her head to kiss me and look into my eyes. “That was incredible, my prince....”

“I'm glad you enjoyed it, but are you willing to do the same for Calliope now that it's her turn?” I replied sternly.

Katriana's eyes widened. “Um... Well, I guess I could try....”

I glanced down at Calliope, and ordered, “Go lie on the bed.”

It took a bit of arranging, but soon Calliope was lying with her legs spread on the bed, while I knelt between them. Katriana was on all fours, over top Calliope, her head oriented towards me. Both girls looked nervous, but Ashryn tried to soothe them by stroking their hair and telling them how beautiful they looked.

I took my cream-covered cock, and placed it's head at Calliope's slit. “Are you planning to breed me too, my prince?” she asked, teasingly.

“Do you want me to?” I asked in reply.

“I'll perform whatever service my prince asks of me,” she moaned as I teased her, “But, I am a little jealous of your other lovers, having gotten so much attention....”

She got cut off with a moan as pushed my cock into her welcoming pussy. As I thrust into her, I pushed Katriana's head down. “Now, do what Calliope just did for you. Lick her while I fuck her.”

Katriana made a resistant face, but after a moment she obediently snaked out her tongue and lapped at the place where my cock met the top of Calliope's pussy. Calliope responded with a moan, hips bucking to meet mine as I drilled into her. Ashryn, not to be left out, came up beside me, pressing her breasts against my arm while she kissed me.

In retrospect, with two party members already on the bench due to impending pregnancy, I probably shouldn't have creampied Calliope, but in that same situation, I challenge you to show any restraint whatsoever.

After leaving Calliope and Katriana exhausted on the one bed, Ashryn and I wrapped up the evening together by moving to the other bed. She had me lay back, and, gently taking hold of the cock that was already slick with two loads of cum and two other women's love juice, slid it into her own pussy. I was pretty exhausted at that point, But Ashryn was understanding and took control, easing me into a third orgasm as she pleasured herself on my rod. 

After she was spent, we fell asleep cuddling together, and for the a long time after I wouldn't feel so safe and warm.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)  
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, 350 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & fiancee), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Yua (Servant)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 1636 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	5. Isekai Life & Lakeland Travels

I woke up to the feeling of something warm and moist enveloping my morning wood. At some point last night, it seems, I had kicked off the blankets sometime last night, and Ashryn had nestled herself between my legs and was busy bobbing her head up and down over my cock. I somehow turned myself away from the image of my silver-haired fiancee's blowjob and glanced around the room- Katriana was curled up and asleep in bed, still, but Calliope was nowhere to be seen.

Noticing I was awake, Ashryn released me and crawled up beside me. She put a finger on her lips, to bid me to stay silent, before lying back, opening her legs, and spreading open her labia for me.

Who am I to ignore such an invitation?

I rolled over to be above her, and guided my penis into her with one hand. She was wet, warm, and welcoming, and when I started to thrust, she wrapped her arms around my neck, sealed her lips to mine and wouldn't let go. Her tongue intruded on mine, while my cock thrust into her over and over, and her quiet moans into my mouth soon echoed my assaults on her body.

It didn't take long for our hushed, hurried lovemaking to reach it's crescendo, and I felt Ashryn clutch me close, shuddering, while I poured a fresh batch of semen inside her.

People who look down on missionary position sex are idiots, as far as I can tell. There's nothing wrong and a lot right about a woman wrapping her legs around you and kissing you deeply while you fuck. I guess it helps to have a beautiful elven priestess to do it with, though.

“That was wonderful,” she whispered after we had time to catch out breath. She the kissed me lightly on the nose. “I just wanted one little bit more before you had to leave.”

I nodded. “I will miss you, silverheart,” I said, burying my face in her neck as I held her, my softening cock still buried in her sex.

I could feel her stroke my hair. “Keep an eye out for another cleric while you're gone, one who will be friendly to us,” she replied, “I want to be married before the baby comes, if it pleases my prince.”

I nodded. “It does, silverheart,” I said as I rose from the bed, finally disentangling myself. “I'd better get a bath in and get ready to go. It seems the others might already be prepared.”

Ashryn smiled decadently. “Go ahead. I'm going to stop distracting my love and sleep in, and enjoy the feeling of his seed still inside me.”

It was all I could do to actually tear myself away and go suit action to words. If I had any poorer willpower, I'd never get anything done. Maybe I should rethink this “dozen wives and many lovers” thing. Still, I took a moment to squeeze Ashryn's hand, and took the time to kiss the sleeping Katriana goodbye.

By the time I was dressed and ready to go, with my bag packed, my pockets of spell components refilled, and a simple brown travelling robe on, everyone was already ready to leave. Snacks, Stout and Buttermilk were all saddled and bridled, the wagon packed with our belongings and Custard in his halter, idly grazing on some grass in the yard. Ricard, Mia, Bekker, and Enna were out to see us off, and I started by going to them.

Enna offered me a hearty shake when I walked by. “Don't worry 'bout a thing, Theo,” she said with a grin, “Your girls are safe with Lady Enna of Shafttown. I'll protect 'em with my life if I 'ave to.”

“I'd rather you protect them with your skill and weapons, and save your life for yourself, if it's all the same to you,” I replied jovially, but then Enna tugged me closer.

“Well, just see to it 'at you come home safe for 'em, too,” she commanded in a low voice, “All our 'opes are riding on you, an' you're gonna be a father soon, right? So maybe be careful, yeah? I won't be there to drag you away from whatever dark god you get mixed up with this time.”

“I'll take care of myself, Enna,” I promised, and the short and wiry woman tugged on my arm again and pulled me into a brutal hug. She squeezed my shoulders so hard, I expected to be feeling it the next day.

Bekker was a lot more polite, offering me a bow, and murmuring something about caring for Ashryn and Katriana. I hardly heard because he kept his voice low and refused to look me in the eye, I guess because he didn't want me to see the disappointment on his face. It can't be easy to be told you're too old to follow the person you swore to serve. I clapped him on the shoulder, thanked him for his service, and moved on.

Mia was next, giving my hand a shake. “Be careful, young man,” Mia cautioned, “The Lakelands are beautiful, but deadly for the unwary. The towns and villages only patrol a day or two down the main roads, and less in the wilds.”

Good advice, I hadn't realized that. But then, random encounters are the usual for an adventurer. I promised to be careful to both her and Ricard, and then I really had said all my goodbyes.

Voss and Calliope were already mounted by the time I was done, and Yua was fidgeting at the helm of the wagon in her ill-fitting mail. “Took you long enough,” Voss said with a grin, “I though you were going to sleep forever.”

“Sorry,” I said, mounting Snacks and grimacing as my robes bunched up around my thighs. It was an unfortunate reality of riding a horse in robes- Calliope and Ashryn both gave up at some point and had their robes tailored to end at the mid-thigh, and protected their modesty with stockings, which, for me, at least, didn't seem very modest at all. It would look ridiculous on me, and for the thousandth time I promised myself that I'd invest in actual proper clothing next chance I got.

“Birchen, here we come,” Voss said, and heeled his horse towards the gate, “It should be about a week, right?”

“Yeah, seemed that way to me, from the map,” I said, “You made sure to pack it up, right?”

In response, Voss patted one of his saddlebags. “I had time to triple-check everything while you were crawling out of your pile of sexy women.”

I glanced back. Calliope was riding alongside the wagon, acting as rearguard, I suppose, and with the sound of the horses she should be well out of earshot. I pushed Snacks into a brief trot to catch up with Voss, and asked in a low voice, “You're not jealous or anything, are you?”

The other man heaved a bit of a sigh. “You know, I thought I wouldn't be, but it really is hard sometimes. Last night is a prefect example- I'm fine with being your right-hand man if you need time with your ladies, but it's hard not to be bitter when you're busy getting laid and the rest of us are standing around waiting for you to decide you're done.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I think I can empathize. I'm sorry, I'll try not to let that happen again.”

“All that I ask is that, if a woman shows genuine affection towards me, that you give us some space, okay?”

“Of course,” I replied, and paused a moment. “You and Enna aren't...?”

He shrugged. “It's not that I'm not interested in Enna, but she doesn't seem interested in me. At least she's not in interested in you, either, apart from teasing you every so often.”

“Oh.” I guess that was on me, assuming that there would be some kind of “pair the spares” situation.

Eventually we came to Pendleton, where we stopped at the dry goods store long enough to buy rations for two weeks' travel, then we turned to the north road out of town. From here on out, it was all open road and wilderness until we reached a town called Rhymer's Cross that was roughly the midpoint between Pendleton and Birchen.

The first two days of travel were pretty dull, all things considered. The Lakelands were very beautiful, and everywhere we went teemed with life- the croaking of frogs, fish darting through the waters, songbirds and squirrels scampering through the trees and grass. The first night, we camped at the side of the river, where Voss attempted (and failed) to fish, The second day was just as quiet, and we camped that night in an aspen grove, the leaves sheltering us from the harsh morning sun.

About halfway through the third day, storm clouds rolled in without warning, and we were forced to make camp early and shelter in our tents as a sudden thunderstorm thrashed the area. It was gone as rapidly as it came on, though, but we lost the afternoon's worth of progress. We travelled a little later than usual to compensate, pushing until we couldn't see the path beneath our horse's hooves. We were rewarded, though, by travelling across a wide field, through which wild horses frolicked in the aftermath of the storm, their hooves sending up showers of rainwater that sparkled in the fading light of the evening.

We camped that night on the edge of a fen, as the meadow gave way to marshland. By the light of foxfire and torches, me made our camp for the second time that day, and, as usual, set up our watches. We didn't trust Yua to understand what was being said, so we left her out of it, instead leaving it up to Voss, Calliope and I. It wasn't much trouble- Calliope and I hadn't had need of our magic in weeks, so we didn't need the full night's rest to memorize more spells- though obviously that wouldn't last. 

Voss drew first watch, and Calliope drew second, leaving me with the third and final watch. After a meal of bread and cheese, I crawled into my tent, lamenting how Calliope and I being in the watch pool had lead to a sharp decrease in my nighttime cuddle time. I had trouble sleeping, though, and it seemed I ended up staring up at the ceiling of my tent for hours. Then had the effect of, hours later, when Calliope shook me awake for my watch, I was not only tired, I had barely slept at all.

“Are you going to be okay, Theodore?” she said, sleepily, “You look beat.”

“Yeah, I'll be fine,” I said, as I rubbed the sleep from my no-doubt bloodshot eyes. Calliope was too tired to argue, it seemed, as second watch involved getting two bouts of three hours of sleep and was the hardest of the three watches to deal with. She crawled into my tent, and when I protested, she waved me off. “It smells like you in here,” she muttered, “Jus' let me....”

She was already asleep.

I sighed, and sat by the dwindling fire, tossing a few bits of kindling to keep it going. It was going to be a long three hours until dawn, and I was already wondering if I should ask Voss to lead Snacks while I napped in the wagon.

A hand on my shoulder shook me awake. It was still dark, and the fire had died completely. I couldn't see a thing. But I could hear something moving around the camp, and a low growling coming from somewhere nearby.

Something in the darkness flashed blue above me, and suddenly a torch blazed to life. It was Yua, and she held the torch out for me, and I took it, numbly, not quite realizing what was going on. That's when I saw the eyes reflecting from the darkness. We were surrounded.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 2 (4608/5000)  
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Calliope (Level 1 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	6. Isekai Life & Night Ambush

“Voss! Calliope! To arms!”

Our ambushers did not like me shouting a warning, and began edging out of the trees. Squat, pale green humanoids armed with rusty knives and simple wooden clubs- goblins. Stupid but cunning, they are not to be underestimated, especially in great numbers. And this group had an obvious sergeant, a slightly larger, raggedy goblin with filthy leather armor, a shield and a shortsword. Worse, they had friends- taller forms with glowing, yellow night-eyes slinking in the dark. Worgs, evil direwolves that worked with goblins on occasion.

I heard the horse whinnying somewhere behind us, and I cast the thought out of my mind. As much as I liked our horses, they'd have to take care of themselves for now. We had bigger problems.

I mentally tallied our forces. Unfortunately, our current party configuration swapped most of our most useful party members in favour of our weakest, overall. I knew Calliope was still level one- we've used enough incidental magic since leaving Tresens that I knew she still had only two spell slots- and Voss was never as strong in combat as Katriana. Worse, our two casters were dead tired, and our fourth party member couldn't communicate, just great.

I chose to buy time. “What do you want?” I growled in the guttural language of the goblins, “This camp ours, you go. We have big magic.”

A few of the lesser goblins hesitated, but when their sergeant started cackling the whole crowd picked it up. The sergeant gestured for silence and answered, “Biggus heard that before, human. We want meat, slaves, steel and women, and if you not slave then you meat. Make choice.”

Behind me I heard Voss curse and scramble out of his tent, with similar sounds coming from my tent. I switched back to common, ordering, “Voss, when those wolves hit us, you've got to distract them and keep them off us, okay?”

“What wolves? I don't-”

“Enough talk!” the sergeant, howled, “You die!”

I heard Calliope intoning her Shield spell. Good, I thought as I tossed the torch aside, stepped in front of Yua and made the Sigil. Let's see how these goblins burn.

The sergeant screamed as he scrambled back, flames licking up his arm. Of the two goblins on either side of him, one went up like a candle and died screaming, the other hissed and sidestepped my flames, horrifically burned. As soon as my fire guttered out, though, the sergeant scrambled towards me and stabbed wildly with his sword, the blade deflecting off my unseen magical armour just an inch from my body.

Voss shouted a warcry of, “For Prince Theodore!” as he lunged forward, taking advantage of the surprise to skewer a goblin and flick the dying vermin in a smooth two-motion movement, only for a second goblin to scramble onto his shield and strike home with it's dirk, causing Voss' sleeve to darken with blood. But I was soon distracted- the goblins surged forward everywhere, and bounding out of the shadows came the worgs, snapping with jaws full of brutal fangs.

There was a flash of light from behind me and I turned to see Calliope's magic missile explode a goblin's head, but she was surrounded by five others. I canted and threw a pinch of sand in her direction, and all the goblins there fell over, asleep- but Calliope also clutched her head groggily and slipped to the ground, collateral damage of my spell.

Of course, if it wasn't laughably weak it would end up being too effective.

I felt a tug on my sleeve, and was hauled back, twisting to see the sergeant's arm rearing back to strike again with his shortsword- only to have shining steel strike downwards, slicing the back of the goblin's skull off with a ringing sound, clear as a bell. Yua spun, kicking the goblin away with a back kick, ad came up sword in a protective stance to ward off on oncoming worg. The worg was too cunning by half, though, and ducked under her blade to savage her in the thigh. 

I snatched up the fallen torch, and waved it at the beast, warding it off long enough for Yua to recover, slamming the runed greatsword into the beast's side and scattering it with a yelp. The beast darted in to nip at Yua again, but this time she slid aside nimbly. I jumped forward into the gap, swinging the torch, not harming the worg but keeping it from getting within Yua's striking range, giving her the time to smoothly step forward and behead the worg with a single stroke.

We turned and saw Voss struggling with the other worg, bleeding from half a dozen wounds. I jumped forward, shouting and waving my torch, and the worg danced away, growling- straight into Yua's sidehand swing. It was able to dodge from Voss's spearthrust, only to get run through by Yua's counterstroke.

And just like that, the violence was over.

Still standing: Myself, unharmed. Yua, bitten by a worg. Voss, fucked up by multiple goblin and worg wounds.

On the ground: Calliope and five goblins gently sleeping. Two dead worgs, eight dead goblins including the sergeant. 

Well, okay, four sleeping goblins. Three. Two. Okay, Yua really doesn't like goblins.

“Aren't you concerned?” Voss asked, “That was the goblin language you were speaking, right? You could interrogate one of them, get them to tell us where their camp is.”

I weighed my desire to extract more goblin-related information against my desire not to have a goblin loogie spit in my face.

“Hey, help me get Calliope back in the tent,” I replied, “She'll wind up with a sore back if we just leave her out like that.”

Voss and I moved Calliope where she could sleep comfortably, then he sat on a fallen log while I fetched the old sewing kit and started to clean his wounds and at least prevent him from bleeding everywhere. The fighter was pretty messed up, and it look some doing. Add to that the darkness and my sleepiness, and the process took awhile.

“Ow! Hey, careful with that needle!”

“Sorry, sorry....”

Yua, for her part, went and checked on the horses, then turned our single torch into a respectable campfire. From there, she stood vigil over the campsite, standing at the edge of the firelight, facing the darkness, sword drawn and held against one shoulder. I found the time to go over to her and tell her, “Thank you, we would have died without you.” She bowed her head in response, as if to say, “Just doing my job”.

As soon as we understood each other better, we'd have to have a discussion about her sudden prowess with a sword.

As we were cleaning up the campsite of the assorted gore and corpses (for which I got to use Tenser's Floating disc for the first time, yay), I was lost in thought. These goblins didn't seem like a regular random encounter. While the presence of the worgs didn't necessarily mean anything, the rules-as-written goblin encounter was 4d6 goblins with no worgs in sight. Similarly, worgs come in 3d4 packs with only a one-line mention of goblins.

But, the AD&D Monster Manual had rules for determining the size and population of a goblin community. First, you start with 4d10 multiplied by ten regular goblin warriors, giving you a number from forty to four hundred. For every forty total goblins, there will be a lieutenant and four sergeants with slightly more HP. For every two hundred goblins, there will be a sub-chief with 2d4 bodyguards- so it's highly unlikely there would be more than one, if there is one. Then every tribe had a goblin chief with 2d4 bodyguards of his own.

Then you had the fun extras. A flat 25% percent chance that 10% of their total forces would be mounted on worgs, and have about 1d4 times ten unmounted worgs to use. Another 60% of the time they would have 5d6 worgs guarding their lair, and a 20% chance that they would be working with 2d6 bugbears. Goblin shamans have less fixed rules, simply being said to be “rare”, but their capabilities are described, so we'd have to keep our eyes out. Finally, there would be 60% of the total male goblin population as females (or, I noted, as slaves and craftsgoblins, I suppose- judging by the gross floppy tits on some of the goblins that attacked us, this tribe was somewhat more egalitarian) and a number of goblin children equal to the total adult population of the goblins.

After washing my hands and setting the goblin pyre ablaze with Voss, I fetched my ledger out from the back of the wagon and jotted down a few figures. Potentially, we were dealing with a goblin population as high as four-hundred, though the most likely based on the bell curve was two hundred twenty.... In the most likely instance, assuming every one of the tribe generation rolls matches the bell curve perfectly, there were a total of 820 goblins, with a possible cap of 1528. I noted down that we were attacked by 11 goblins (including one sergeant) and two worgs. A dreary figure in comparison to the total challenge, but less than a quarter of them were actual fighters.

It occurred to me, that there might be some... ethical concerns about killed defenseless goblin children. I shook my head to banish those thoughts. We'd have to figure that out when we come to it. Maybe we'd get lucky and they'd vanish into the wilderness and die of exposure or something. Either way, there was no point in addressing such concerns on less than half a night of sleep. 

“What are you thinking about so intensely?” Voss asked with a yawn, “You should get to bed. We'll have to sleep in late, then make a real push for Rhymer's Cross so you and Calli can recharge your spells in safety.”

“I'm thinking about goblins tribes, Voss,” I replied, “This party wanted to capture us and take us as slaves. Ten goblins with four human-sized prisoners, they wouldn't be able to keep us in check for long.”

“Meaning...?”

“Meaning their settlement is within a night's walk from here, probably closer,” I said, shutting my ledger with a snap. “We've got to wipe them out.”

Voss looked confused. “But isn't the mass disappearance situation more worthy of our attention? That's what we're getting paid for.”

“Sure,” I allowed, “But some goblins can use magic, and they'd be cunning enough to summon a mist then use it as cover to escape with their captives.”

“But what about the lack of signs of violence?”

I shrugged. “Ricard had his information third, maybe even fourth-hand. I wouldn't be surprised if the details got mixed up.”

Vos shrugged. “I guess. Well, you're the boss.”

“You're right, though, that we need to make Rhymer's Cross soon,” I allowed, “We'll need a base to operate from, a method and plan for hunting them down, and any allies that are on offer. Even a small tribe has hundreds of goblins in it, and for now it's just us four.”

Voss glanced at Yua. “Well, between the magic and our hidden talent swordmistress over there, we're a hell of a four... but I understand what you mean. I could do with a whole company of halberdiers and crossbows right about now.”

And to think I held some of our party's MVPs back because I was worried about a couple births that wouldn't happen for seven months... I was sure hurting for Katriana's skill, Ashryn's support magic, and Enna's stealth skills right about now. “We'll just have to hope that good fortune provides,” was all I could respond with.

The thing that troubled me most of all- that set my guts to churn with anxiety, to be honest- was what the goblin had said. Slaves, women, meat. It was the first time that Corgiel implied that rape and cannibalism were elements that were definitely on the table for this “game”.

Slaves, women, meat.

The last roll to make for a goblin tribe was to determine how many slaves the goblins had.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 2 (4829/5000)  
Hit Points: 5

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): 

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 144 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	7. Isekai Life & Night Counter-Ambush

Despite the smell of burning goblin flesh, Voss and I were both so exhausted that we fell asleep almost immediately, leaving Yua on guard duty. I don't know what had caused her to wake up when she did, but she seemed the most rested out of all of us, and even her wounds weren't as bad as they first appeared for some reason. I guess her race bleeds a lot?

Since my tent was occupied, I took Calliope's, and I have to admit she was right about something- it is quite relaxing to fall asleep on a pillow that smells like your lover. I drifted off almost immediately, and slept peacefully this time.

I woke to find it was already late morning. Voss and Calliope were both awake and striking camp, while Yua napped in the wagon seat. I did find I was rested and alert enough to be able to focus on my spellbook. I re-memorized Sleep, of course, and then found myself with a bit of a problem. I wanted to memorize Burning Hands twice, but I wasn't entirely sure how one would go about “memorizing something twice” in a practical sense. Instead, I tried to memorize it for twice as long as I needed to, and hoped that worked.

When she saw that I was done studying my spellbook, Calliope approached me. “Voss informed me of the plan. Are you sure you want to take on a whole goblin tribe?”

“I know it sounds weird, but I think there's a pretty good chance these goblins are responsible for the mass disappearances,” I replied, then shrugged. “Even if they're not, they're going around capturing slaves. Those people deserve to be freed, or avenged.”

“Yeah, okay,” Calliope hesitated, hewing her lip, then decided to continue on regardless of her anxiety, “It's just.... We can't possibly save everyone we come across, you know. We'll be solving petty disputes and hunting monsters until we're old and grey and the chance to take back your throne is long behind us.”

She had a point, I had to admit. “I understand. Believe me, we're not just going to go frivolously solving problems for people. But favours from the powerful, treasure, magic items, even gratitude and reputation are all things that we're going to need, in time,” I explained, “While I appreciate you are worried about us losing focus, don't. Katriana and I are more motivated than anyone to see this through.”

Calliope paused and considered what I had said, then shrugged. “Well, I just hope we haven't bitten off more than the four of us can chew. Have you considered whether we're gong to push straight through, or will we camp?”

“Eh?” I was genuinely surprised, I hadn't really considered that we would make it to Rhymer's Cross today.

“We lost half a day yesterday to the weather, and half a day today for you to catch up on your rest,” she explained, “We don't have an exact idea of how far down this road Rhymer's Cross is, only that it's 'about' halfway between Birchen and Pendleton, and that trip is 'about' the same as Osgoode Gate to Pendleton, seven days.” She then crossed her arms protectively before continuing. “We might be able to push into the night and reach Rhymer's Cross, but we don't have a precise idea of where it is. But if we make camp for tonight, we're doing so in what we know is occupied territory, and another ambush by goblins is likely.”

“Well, you're not wrong,” I answered thoughtfully. “What if we were to flip the script?

“What does that mean?” she replied.

“We know we're going to be ambushed,” I said thoughtfully, “At least, we probably are. So what if we ambushed the ambushers? We set up traps, or something like that, and we prepare for a fight. Only two people sleep at a time, maybe even have two camps within sight of one another, so they either split their forces or open themselves up for attack from behind.”

“That splits our forces, too,” Calliope pointed out, “But maybe there's something that can be done. We'll need time to prepare, though, so we may as well travel while we have daylight.”

We did so. While Calliope and I rode together and discussed our plan for the night, Voss scouted ahead by about fifty meters, and Yua came up from behind with the cart. 

Eventually, we came to a bridge that crossed a shallow but wide river, and Calliope nodded. “This will have to be it,” she said with a sense of finality. So, we started making our camp and engaged our plan.

First of all, we'd be camping on the actual road. The hard-packed dirt road would make for uncomfortable sleeping, so instead we partially unloaded the wagon, so that two people could sleep on a hard, flat surface as opposed to the hard, bumpy one. Then, we had Voss go and collect branches, dozens of them, while Calliope, Yua and I started the fire and rubbed down the horses.

We set the wagon across the entrance to the bridge. This gave us a “wall” of sorts that gave us something to set our back to. Then, we had Voss stake the two sides of the camp on either side of the road, creating a rough triangle, which our camp sat inside, with an open tip facing the way we came. While not all of the “stakes” were entirely sound- some had signs of rot- they were sharpened and presented the appearance of defences, and were spaced close enough together that they shouldn't be able to overwhelm us.

Finally, we played two bundles of wood soaked in lantern oil on either side of the opening, which we could easily set alight with mine and Calliope's Burning Hands.

So, our basic idea was to pair up mage-fighter, with the fighter “holding the line” with mage support until the other pair were awake, and then if necessary, we would rotate our situation so that Yua was in the prime spot, and Voss could fall back and provide ranged support with his shortbow.

We communicated this as best we could to Yua, even having a “dress rehearsal”, where we led her through the plan a couple times until she seemed to understand what we were getting at. It wasn't a perfect plan, I wouldn't even necessarily call it a great plan, but it was what we had.

Fuck, why did I ever overlook the Alarm spell?

Voss and Calliope drew first watch, so while they stayed up, I tried to bed down with Yua. The cart wasn't really crowded per se, but it was awkward- for some reason, Yua was stiff and uncomfortable looking, and flinched whenever I accidentally touched her. Somehow, though, I managed to get some sleep.

I slept dreamlessly, as usual, only to be woken up by the sounds of battle and yelling, and the flickering of flames.

For the most part, the goblins decided to take the bait. The sergeant this time was sitting back, driving the other goblins- much more of them this time- forward with a whip, while just beyond the firelight, worgs paced in the darkness, waiting for the goblins to soften us up before driving in for the kill. Voss was there with his spear, attempting to drive back the goblins but already bleeding from some wounds, but one of the bundles was already alight and the crumpled burning forms of some unfortunates scattered around the entrance.

The sergeant cracked his whip, which had the effect of startling me into action. Yua was already scrambling over the edge of the wagon, snatching up her sword in the process, so I did the same, landing heavily enough on the ground that it made my teeth click.

Voss drove his spear into a goblin's gut before kicking the body away for the unfortunate to bleed to death somewhere on the ground, while Calliope cast her Magic Missile spell, sending a magical dart to blast apart one of the gobbos rushing forward to pile in.

“Voss, fall back!” I yelled as I recovered myself, raised my hands and made the Sigil as Voss moved out of the way. None of the oncoming goblins saw what was coming as they were engulfed in flames and died. With some kind of battle cry in her own language, Yua surged forward, swinging her sword in a wide arc, failing to connect but holding the green horde at bay. Calliope chose to pick up Voss' bow and quiver, trading him for his spear as he vaulted onto the wagon for the best sight lines.

A goblin ducked in and cracked Yua right across her thigh with a knobbly club, but I moved froward, keeping Yua out of my angle of fire as I cast Burning Hands once again, raking flames across the goblin crowd, which by now was thinning quite nicely. Yua struck, beheading an unfortunate gobbo entirely while Voss sank an arrow deep into the sergeant's chest.

And then the worgs were upon us, one of their jaws closing on Yua's wrist even as she struggled to strike again. The remaining goblins cackled at us, but I was prepared for this.

I cast Sleep, focusing on a spot just behind the two worgs. Immediately, the two massive wolves, as well as all three remaining goblins, fell over in torpor.

I turned to Calliope, and pretended to blow smoke off a finger pistol. She gave me a small smile in return, even as Yua set about the bloody work of coup de grace-ing the sleeping enemies.

I stayed up long enough to stitch and bandage up Yua and Voss again, and then help with the pyre. As I did, I updated my tally- fifteen more dead goblins for a total of twenty-five, two sergeants and four worgs. They were grinding us down, though- Voss looked beat up as hell, and even Yua was beginning to look worse for wear. 

“This was a normal patrol,” Voss mentioned after, “Roughly the same layout as the other one. I don't think they realize yet that the other patrol isn't coming back.”

I nodded. “Makes sense, after all, they're not known for being intelligent. We might squeeze out another night before they get wise and start sending hunting parties for us.”

Voss nodded, the calmly started moving burning sticks from our “trap” to the pyre.

We decided to go back to a single person on watch, leaving the newly-wounded fighters to have the cart alone while Calliope and I tried to get enough sleep to be able to memorize spells on the hard ground. We were trading relative comfort for relatively more sleep.

Sleep proved elusive, however, for more than just the hard ground. Our fighters were on our their last legs, and if we had to fight more before we had a chance to heal, someone would probably die. I didn't want that to happen- no, I couldn't let that happen.

As I finally drifted off, I couldn't help but notice a slight tugging sensation, as if I was being pulled back somehow.

I awakened to an explosion of confetti.

“Congratulations! And like always, welcome back!”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)  
Hit Points: 5 + ?

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, 1 additional.

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	8. Isekai Life & Spell Debate

I was once again floating in the void with Corgiel, before the table with the fated d4 on it. Everything was as usual, even the yellow-green confetti, except....

“Uh... is your dress shorter?” I asked.

“N-no...” she seemed to blush and look away.

“And your chest, it's....”

“What kind of a way is this to greet your friend!” she yelled, covering up her chest with her arms, “Could you at least say hello to me! Jeez!”

“Oh, right, sorry,” I said. But, in my defense, it was a pretty stark difference, like Shoujo Lily becoming Tsundere Lily between scenes or something. 

“Jeez! I was excited, too!” she said crossly, “It's a pretty important level up for you!”

Oh, right, of course. Level three. I would be getting a new spell level, and so, because I'm a specialist wizard, I'd be getting a brand new spell for free. Generalist wizards would be left hanging out until they stumbled upon or paid to learn a second level spell- unless the DM said otherwise, of course- but not me, I'd get a freebie.

Also, I had a new nonweapon proficiency coming my way. That was also kind of neat. Right?

“I'm really sorry for saying that stuff, Corgiel,” I ended up saying, “That was really disrespectful of me. It's just, you seem to have changed your appearance. And, well, I found it really noticeable, that's all.”

She still pouted. “You're paying attention to Theodore.”

Huh?

“You're paying attention to Theodore,” she repeated, “You're picking up on his etiquette skills, that's all~”

Huh. I guess I was. I mean, etiquette at it's core was treating people with due respect. The signs and symbols that you express yourself may vary from culture to culture, but in AD&D the Etiquette nonweapon proficiency is entirely divorced from exposure to other cultures, so at it's core it becomes an act of expressing due respect to individuals.

So... that's a thing.

“This whole situation isn't some kind of secret test of character, is it?” I asked, “I'm not going to wake up in my old body having learned enough lessons about how to be a good person, am I?”

Corgiel grinned. “Nope~! If you choose to be a good person in your Heaven, that's your decision~”

Hmm, alright. I guess she hasn't lied to be yet.

I raised my hand and opened my mouth, but Corgiel pointed at before I could speak. “You have questions! Well, go ahead~!”

First things first, let's find out how deep the hole I've managed to screw myself into. “Is Calliope also pregnant now?”

“Hmm, I wonder~”

“Well, be coy if you want, but since you told me last time, I didn't think it would be a problem this time.”

Corgiel made another pouty face. “Someone's being mean today~”

Oh, come on, it wasn't that mean!

“I was just teasing you last time~ So from now on it's super secret~”

Well, that was disappointing.

“Well, okay. Would the size of the goblin tribe I'm about to start fighting be a surprise to most people in the setting? Like, is it larger or smaller than normal?”

“It's about average~ But not many people would know how big a goblin tribe is, so any size could be surprising~”

Okay, good to know, I suppose.

“How are Katriana, Ashryn and everyone doing?”

“Hmm, I wonder~ No, that's kind of mean to say~ They're doing fine, but just because you left them behind doesn't mean they're completely safe, okay?”

That makes sense. I mean, I wouldn't expect them to be completely, one hundred percent safe. I just have to solve the mystery before anything bad happens, right?

“What is Yua's class and level?”

“Oh, you want to know about Yua, hmm? I don't want to tell you, because you'll figure it out eventually~ But she's about on par with Calliope in terms of experience~”

Not exactly 100% what I wanted to hear, but okay.

“So, that's it for my questions. Where do you want to start with the level up process?” I asked.

“Wow, that was fast compared to last time~ Where do you want to begin?”

I gave it some thought. Corgiel seemed to have recovered, and is in a good mood now- though answering as few of my questions as possible might have something to do with it. Maybe I should try the tricky things first?

“Well, about my nonweapon proficiency... I have a question about the nature of alchemical steel in this universe.”

“Yes?”

“If I were to take the Blacksmithing proficiency, could I recast the metal and still have it retain it's properties?”

“Yes, I guess you could.... But weaponsmithing is still a Warrior nonweapon proficiency~”

Shit, that's true. Damn. I was hoping to get some use out of those spare alchemical steel weapons.

Land-based riding would be a good choice... if there wasn't a hard rule against mounted casting. So, why not head towards crafting in a slightly different way.

“I'll take Seamstress/Tailor, then,” I said. I could sew my own robes and them enchant them. That's pretty good, I think.

“Hmm, okay~”

“So now it's my free specialist spell, right?”

“Sure~ What would you like?”

Similar to first level, there were a lot of duds. But there were many real winners on this level, too. But now I had a conundrum. I had intended to take Knock, a very famous second-level spell that automatically opens any door you cast it on. It has the side effect of completely obliterating one of the special class powers of the Thief- unlike the Open Locks skill, Knock was always 100% effective, it just couldn't be used more than you had it memorized, of course.

But... my most pressing issue right now were the goblins. Goblins received a penalty to attacking in bright light- and the Continual Light spell specifically stated it was bright enough to trigger that kind of reaction. It would also help with having enough light to see by, and if cast on a durable enough object, could last for literal decades.

Then again, with such a long duration, Continual Light would only need to be cast once, maybe twice depending on how many objects I needed. That's a lot of useless spell slots while I struggle to find another new spell.

No, I should stay the course. I started this by saying I'd plan the long game, I should persist in that philosophy.

“It'll take Knock, please.”

“Okay~ Enjoy your new spell!”

I picked up the die, and Corgiel seemed to get excited. I guess rolling my hp was pretty climactic, all things considered.

“Hang on,” I said coyly, playing with the die a little in my hand, “I still have a language pick outstanding, don't I?”

Corgiel tilted her head to the side. “Well, yes, I guess that's true~”

“I want to be able to speak Yua's language.”

“Hmm, really? But it hasn't been all that long for you to learn it~”

“Well, I am Intelligence 17, I think I'm a pretty quick learner.”

“I guess so~ Well, if it makes you happy, okay, you can know Yua's language~”

Excellent. I gave the die a roll. It seemed to rolling in slow motion, tumbling across the smooth surface on the table, before coming to a halt.

“Hmm, too bad~”

I had rolled a 2. Honestly, I was just relieved it wasn't another 1. I wish it had been higher, but I'd take it. That first level gave be a bit of perspective on my HP meter.

“Well, I guess that's it for now.”

“Yeah, I'll miss you too~ But have fun in your adventure~”

And with that, Corgiel gave me an energetic wave goodbye, and I settled into the void of sleep.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level):   
(2nd Level):

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	9. Isekai Life & Arrow Trail

I awoke to the smell of cooking porridge and the sound of whickering horses. I was stiff in all the wrong places, and my entire upper back felt fused into a single board that burned whenever I shifted. I attempt to push myself up, but that proved to be an ordeal that had me hissing in pain.

Yua appeared above me, bending over to gently take me by the shoulders and ease me up into a sitting position. I had to grit my teeth against the pain, but she got me up there, and then onto my feet. I was then lead, limping, to the back on the wagon. Yua jumped up to sit at the edge of the wagon, thighs pressed tight together.

“Come lie down,” she said in her own language, gesturing with her hands, “Put your head here.”

Without saying anything, I took her hand and climbed up into the wagon, and lay down, placing my head facedown in her lap. My nose filled with her scent, which, even though we had been travelling and saw plenty of battle, was not unpleasant.

Yua then started attacking my back. I know it was a massage, but it was the most aggressive massage of my life. She jabbed her fingers so deep into my muscles that every poke felt like agony... but it was effective, and everywhere she worked loosened up and felt something approaching normal. Then, when she was done with my back, she forced me to sit up and did the same for my shoulders and neck.

When she was finally finished, I got up and bend over experimentally. I was still a little sore, but at least my back wasn't completely locked up.

“Thank you,” I told Yua, in her own language.

She eyes shot wide open in surprise. Then, she bowed her head and looked away. “You're welcome,” she replied, also in her own language.

I opened my mouth to say more, but then I remembered Corgiel's rules. I couldn't let on that I know this world ran on D&D, which meant I couldn't let on that I suddenly had new skills after leveling-up. Or even implying I had a level-up. So, I left it for now. There would be plenty of time to talk, later.

Besides, I had an important date with my spellbook.

I sat down by the fire with Calliope, and cracked open my spellbook. The second my eyes lit on a blank page, I snatched up a bit of charcoal from the fire and started writing like a man possessed. I couldn't control myself, it was as though I was seized with sudden inspiration and just had to get it out.

When I was done, I had the instructions for the Knock spell written out completely.

Calliope raised an eyebrow at me. “Sudden fit of inspiration?”

“Something like that, I guess,” I said, uncertainly. I didn't expect the free spell on level up thing to express itself in that way.

Calliope nodded. “I guess you attained a new plateau,” she mentioned, as she bent back over her own spellbook, “I'm a little jealous.”

I searched my memory for what she as talking about... and came up blank. Guess that knowledge is tied specifically to the Spellcraft proficiency. Or at least, I slept through that class. Either way, it would make sense for there to be an in-character reasoning as to why specialist wizards suddenly had knowledge of new spells every once and awhile. 

For my spell selection that day, I went with Burning Hands, Sleep, and Wall of Fog. Outrunning and defeating goblin patrols was shaping up to be our new normal, at least for now- Burning Hands and Sleep were instrumental battlefield tools, and Wall of Fog might come in handy for obscuring our trail. As for my two new second level spell slots, I had but one option, so I just spent a lot of time carefully going over my freshly-written Knock instructions, in hopes of memorizing it twice.

At least it would save me time memorizing spells in the future.

I was so lost in my spellbook, I didn't even notice how much time had passed. Soon enough, Voss was poking me in the shoulder. “Daylight is wasting, Theodore. We have to get moving, or we may as well not go anywhere.”

I nodded numbly, and stowed my spellbook. An hour and ten minutes I wasted memorizing new spells, at the usual rate of ten minutes per spell level.... We would be lucky to make much progress today.

The day's ride passed, for the most part, without interruption. We hurried along the road, hoping against hope that today would be the day we'd make it to the next town.

The only thing that was out of the ordinary were the arrows.

We spotted the first arrow an hour out of camp. It was a simple pale wooden arrow with black fletchings, stuck in the ground. Voss hopped out of his saddle to retrieve it, and examined it. “Too long for one of those goblins to pull,” he said with a shrug, adding it to his quiver, “Guess there's someone else hunting these woods.”

“I hope the goblins didn't get them, too, then,” I replied.

A half hour later there was another. Then, a half-hour after that, another, all stuck point-down in the middle of the road.

“Two might be coincidence, but three is a pattern,” Calliope pointed out as Voss picked up the third arrow.

“And they're all fletched the same way, too,” Voss pointed out, thoughtfully, “The question is, why?”

“Maybe there'll be clues further on,” I urged, “Come on, we have to keep going.”

And so it went, on and on, until Voss had a half-dozen new arrows. They were spaced roughly evenly along the road, twenty or thirty minutes apart at the rate we were going.

Then, the pattern changed.

We were coming through a wooded area, where the ground was relatively dry. An ancient, disused cart path, almost overgrown, split off from our trail, heading northwest. And right at the edge of the long grass, at the mouth of that cart trail, was an arrow.

While Voss picked it up, Calliope and I exchanged glances. The implication was clear- go this way.

“It could be an ambush,” Calliope pointed out.

“Yes, but this doesn't seem to be, well, a goblin's style,” I replied, “And I don't think bandits or other likely ambushers would coexist with a goblin tribe as well-supported and organized as the ones who have been hunting us.”

Calliope gave me a sour look. “I don't know... this still seems fishy to me.”

“There don't appear to be any tracks around here,” Voss mentioned, “So whoever is doing this, they're a pretty good shot, to be this precise....” 

“All the more reason we might want to avoid them,” Calliope remarked.

“It all comes down to, do you want to roll the dice that this new person is a friend, or do you want to fight more goblins tonight?” I replied, 

Calliope grimaced. “The dice, then?”

“We can't keep going on as we have,” I replied, “Crawling towards civilization while we bleed every night. Our fighters are wounded, and none of us has slept more than a few hours in days. So yes, I'm inclined to roll the dice.”

I signalled to Yua to take the cart down the overgrown little cart path. The tall grass, thankfully, didn't last for long, and soon the wagon was bouncing over stones and hard-packed earth as the path became more of a game trail. About a hundred yard away from the road, the cart path turned sharply around a grove of six big oak trees, and eventually crossed a small but deep cut brook where the timber mounts for a long-vanished bridge could be seen poking up out of the water. At the end of the path, right before the brook, there were two more arrows, stuck into the ground at an angle to form an “X”.

“I suppose we're here,” Voss said with a sigh, “This grove should provide a cozy place to rest, and we're shielded from the road.”

We began to form camp, hobbling the horses to graze, filling our waterskins, and setting up tents. Calliope and I backtracked to the main road, to try and set the long grass to rights and hopefully disguise the signs of our passing. While it was mostly out of sight, we helped hide the cart by piling brush around it. 

Things were quiet for most of the evening- we were all so tired from the previous nights that nobody was up for any talking. Instead, I unfurled our map and tried to figure out how close to Rhymer's Cross we were. 

Such a small brook would not be on any map worthy of the name, but I thought that this side path might be. It took some time, but I managed to locate a line that might have been a road a scant half-inch away from Rhymer's Cross. If that was where we were, we were close- and ought to come to farmland soon.

After evening meal, we doused the fire. Our sleep would be cold, but the light could be seen by the road. There would be plenty of rest to go around, at least. We set the watches- Calliope, Voss, myself, then Yua in the morning- and set down for the night.

I was so exhausted that I seemed to drift off as soon as my eyes closed. My sleep was dreamless as usual...

...But I was woken up by the sound of moaning, and a familiar wet squishing sound.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 3

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	10. Isekai Life & Safe Haven

I sat up in the moonlit darkness, careful not to disturb Calliope where she had cuddled up against me, and leaned from our tent to glance around, looking for the source of the noise. The campsite was mostly still, and I could see where Yua was curled up in the fetal position, cocooned in her blankets.

I caught movement from the corner of my eye, and when I realized what I was looking at, my eyes went wide.

Voss was sitting with his back to me, leaning against a fallen log. Three completely nude girls- elves, I noted by their ears- with long, unkempt hair surrounded him. One was sitting in his lap, riding him- presumably with his pants down, although I couldn't see from where he was sitting. Another was to one side, licking somewhere on his chest (his nipple?) and another was nuzzling his neck.

I had no idea where they had come from. Immediately, my mind went to possible threats- were they vampires? Succubi?

I scrabbled my way out of the tent and stood, pondering my options. Voss was tough, but with his injuries I didn't want to hose the whole area with Burning Hands and apologize later... also, that would be a dick thing to do. I was calling to mind the words to the Sleep spell when a gentle hand touched my arm.

Standing behind me were two other elf maids... except they weren't. A sweet scent, like that of tree sap, invaded my nostrils, and this close I could see the rough texture of their skin, striated with subtle lines here and there. The girl on the left had hair down to her waist, small, pert breasts, and her large eyes appeared almost luminous in the moonlight. The girl on the right had her hair in a shorter bob, and her body was curvier and more womanly, with more pronounced hips and bust.

They were also completely naked.

The slenderer of the two elf-maids tugged on my elbow. “Come, we have things to discuss,” she said, in the lilting, musical language of the elves.

Still wary, I let myself be led away. I suppose, if they really turned out to be dangerous, I could always just yell and wake the girls.

They lead me to a tree at the edge of the camp, and sat me down, resting my back on the trunk. The two girls knelt on either side of me, looking at me curiously while the sounds of Voss' lovemaking continued in the background.

“What is it?” I asked, looking from maid to maid, “What do we have to discuss? I don't even know who you are....”

“We are the fey spirits of the trees that shelter you,” said the curvier one, “I am called Asitrise. This is my daughter, Melica.”

Dryads, I immediately thought. In the dim light I couldn't see enough colour for the green of their hair or the bark-like duskiness of their skin, but that's the only thing that fit the description. Although, they were a departure from the Dryads I was used to in AD&D. In any version of D&D, Dryads are largely solitary creatures, not keeping to family groups or any sort of organization- if they appeared together, it's because they just so happened to inhabit trees near each other. Also, the category “fey creature” didn't really exist until fourth edition... but nonetheless, Corgiel's version of the creatures would seem to incorporate that element into the older edition.

“Uh, I am called Theodore,” I said in reply, “You're what we call Dryads, right?”

Asitrise nodded. “Yes. The birds and the buzzing insects have brought us word of you, and your quests, Prince Theodore. You need to know, the goblin tribe you seek to destroy is a danger to many, but it is not what caused the disappearances of so many humans.”

I blinked in surprise. Well, that was settled quickly. “So, if that's the case... what is, then?”

“Something very old,” Melica replied this time, “Something ancient beyond imagining. We Dryads have lives as the trees do, and even so this enemy was old and it's origins forgotten in the days of my grandmother's mother, you understand?”

That had to be close to a millennium, damn. I nodded.

“The Lakelands... or something in it... hates humanity,” she continued, “Every few centuries, all human life is wiped from this area. That is why the land is ripe, and fertile... but no kingdoms have risen here. No ancient empires have their roots here. Once it was part of the Misty Kingdom, long ago, but the elves have long since entered the autumn of their race, and they can no longer claim this land.”

Ah, so that's what the Misty Kingdom is. “But the goblins have no part of it?” I asked.

“Only that the humans being destroyed occasionally gives them room to thrive,” Asitrise replied, “These goblins are taking advantage of the fear spreading among the human communities, but they themselves are not responsible for the disappearances.”

“Well, alright,” I said thoughtfully, “But if that's the case, why tell us?”

“We do not want to see death on such a scale,” Asitrise replied, “Even if these people are not our own, we are still creatures of empathy, and we cannot ignore such suffering.”

“The goblins threaten us, as well,” Melica continued, “For now they fear our magic, but in time they may come in numbers, with fire and axes. But they are a distraction from your goal.”

“So, you planted those arrows, to lead us here?”

The two dryads looked at one another, surprised. “We do not carry weapons,” Asitrise said carefully, “It was you who chose to camp under our boughs, although we do thank you for not making a fire.”

Now it was my turn to be surprised. I had assumed from the start that the dryads had lead us here for this discussion, now....

“Who could have lead us here, then?” 

“There are other powers at work in the Lakelands who know of our grove,” Melica replied, “Druids, the elves of the Misty Kingdom... perhaps it was one of them.”

A mysterious friend who saw how slow our progress was, how injured and tired we were. If only this person or persons would help us feather a few more goblins, we might start making real progress.

I couldn't help but notice the way Melica was playing with the belt to my robe. She began to undo it, gently pulling open my clothing to expose my underclothes. “Uh, what are you doing...?” I asked. After such dire warnings, I wasn't exactly in the mood.

“This information does not come without a price,” Asitrise replied gently, as Melica freed my cock and started to stroke it to attention, which wasn't difficult- the fact that these dryads were naked and sexy did not escape me during this conversation. “Do not worry, we only need mortal seed to start the process of growing a sapling. The results of your coupling wouldn't truly be your child.”

As if that would be my only problem with this situation!

I glanced back to where Calliope was, but she was still sound asleep, tucked into our tent. Asitrise gently laid a finger on my chin and brought my attention back to Melica as she was straddling my hips and guiding my rod inside her.

“You belong to the wizard girl?” she said, quietly, “Do not worry. Our magic keeps her asleep. Just think of this as... a pleasant segue after a prophetic dream.”

I suppose I was already not remaining faithful to either my wife or my fiancees, and they already knew that there would be nine others. Katriana had agreed to let me have other lovers, as well. So, what of it if I decide to help fertilize a new tree or two?

Melica's pussy was soft and firm as flower petals, and wet with nectar. She accepted my cock with a happy sigh, pausing only to mention to her mother, “It's bigger than you said it would be....”

Thereafter, our sex was a primal thing. Melica wasn't wild, and in fact was very delicate, riding me gently as she moaned, and accepting my hands running over her dry, barklike skin, feeling her curves and the weight of her heaving chest, somehow denser and heavier than a mortal woman's. But she was quiet, just moans and motion, and my teasing attempts at pillow talk smiled at and unanswered.

When the orgasm came over me, she went perfectly still, where my other lovers had trembled and sighed Melica simply held still and took in my seed.

“That was... better than I expected,” she said as she raised off of me, seemingly not a branch out of sorts despite our lovemaking.

“Glad to be of service,” I said, dryly. On on level, I wasn't surprised. Of course having sex with the personification of a tree would be very different from a flesh-and-blood woman. But I didn't expect everything to be so... perfunctory. “Was it at least good?

“Give her a moment,” Asitrise said softly, “We don't make love in quite the same way as mortals do. But if it was successful you should-”

I was cut off as Melica erupted in a load moan and writhed on the ground. It seemed that all the sensuality that was absence from the act of sex suddenly came over her like a wave. Her back arched, she rubbed her thighs together, and her hips twisted and turned. Then all once, she relaxed, lying on the ground, panting.

Then the realization dawned on me- When I initially protested, Asitrise was focused on the outcome of our coupling because the functional part of the act for these dryads was the insemination. Melica didn't orgasm from the act, she orgasmed because I successfully impregnated her.

I didn't know if it was that knowledge or just watching the younger dryad sensually writhe- probably a bit of both- but I felt Asitrise grip my cock, and realized that I was rock hard again. “Ah, good,” she purred, “I was hoping you'd be capable... I am not so old yet that I would be infertile.”

When Asitrise mounted me, it was a lot better. The more experienced dryad seemed to have a better understanding of what a mortal man seemed to want, and her technique was a lot wilder, bucking her hips more, speeding up and then slowing her pace in a way that enticed and excited.

Also, Melica cuddled towards me, and kissed me with her soft lips, and accepted my probing tongue. She tasted faintly of honey, and my kisses were hungry and passionate while her mother rode my cock. When I came to orgasm, Asitrise was much more active, continuing to bounce up and down on my hard rod while I pumped spurt after spurt of semen into her. Even after my own climax, she continued to ride me, coaxing me back to hardness as she went, and when she came from being successfully fertilized, I shuddered with a third orgasm.

After that, I began drifting off immediately. Whether it from the sex or their magic or just sheer exhaustion, I could not tell. “Remember, Theodore,” Asitrise spoke gently as I drifted, “Stay your course or not, just do not get confused. Your true enemy awaits.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	11. Isekai Life & Morning Problems

“Oh, what the hell, Voss!”

I was woken up by Calliope's shout. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and yawned.

“I, uh, I must have fallen asleep.... We needed the rest anyway, right?”

“That's no excuse!”

I crawled out of the tent and got uneasily to my feet.

Voss was standing at attention, while a furious Calliope jabbed him in the chest with a pointed finger. Even Yua was giving him cut-eye from where she sat over a small fire, boiling porridge.

“Whether we needed rest or not is immaterial! You agreed to take first watch, and if you were too tired to see it through, you should have told somebody!”

“Well, I though that I-”

“It's not his fault,” I interjected, “I didn't realize it at first, but this grove is enchanted. Use your magic to see for yourself, if you can.”

I didn't think she would be able to- we had armed ourselves for battle, so to speak, just yesterday afternoon, and hadn't had any opportunity to use our magic since. Instead, she eyed the trees suspiciously and asked, “How do you know?”

“They are dryads,” I replied, “I, uh, they talked to me.”

Voss stared at me, eye goggling. “So that was... they're real!?”

Calliope crossed her arms and fixed me with a glare. “And what did they say?”

“I, uh....” I swallowed, my throat dry. It occurred to me that Calliope never wanted to fight goblins in the first place, and if I pointed out that the dryads seemed to think that the goblins weren't the true threat, she might insist that we abandon our course and leave the goblins for later.

But to defeat the true threat, we would need help. A base of operations, where we can rest. Allies to help us. New party members, too, as we were really feeling the loss of Ashryn's healing magic. And the fastest way to do that seemed to be helping Rhymer's Cross (if it still stood), defeating the goblins and winning over the folk of the Lakelands. 

Also, I wasn't eager to bring up what I had done with the dryads... or what Voss had done, for that matter. It really wasn't anyone's business what he had done with whom.

“They said we would be safe, and that they would protect us from goblins,” I ended up saying, “And that they were also worried about the goblins showing up to burn down their grove.”

It wasn't a lie, just not the whole truth. That's okay, right?

Calliope still gave me a skeptical look. I could tell just from her expression that she didn't buy it... but at least she didn't question me further. “Dryads or no dryads, we need to be posting watches while we camp in the wild,” she said with finality, then whirled and stabbed Voss with a finger again, “And don't think you're off the hook. A knight needs to have discipline, and you're going to start acting like a knight even if I have to whip the discipline into you myself.”

I idly wondered if Voss would mind that. All the big man did was glumly nod, promise to do better, then walked off muttering something about the horses.

Calliope then turned back to me.

“I don't know what secrets you're keeping, but I can tell you're keeping them,” she said, crossly, “You shouldn't cover for him. He's a brave fighter, to be sure, but....”

I bristled at that. “He's sworn into my service, and he gave his life for our cause,” I said angrily, but keeping by voice low, “I think you owe him more respect than that.”

Calliope gave me a searching look. “All I'm saying is that you both need to remember who the prince is and who the knight is,” she replied in a restrained way, “You're liege and vassal, not friends. You shouldn't be conspiring like schoolboys.”

She turned on her heel and went to pack up our tent.

I could only sigh, and head over to Yua for breakfast.

The dragonborn girl handed me a bowl of porridge and raisins. I thanked her in her own language, and took a seat on a nearby fallen log to eat.

“The spear warrior should be ashamed he fell asleep on watch,” Yua said quietly, “He should have offered his life to his lord in repentance, and allowed his lord to show magnanimity by giving the warrior mercy.”

I blinked. I haven't heard Yua talk so much since that day in thee bedroom where she did that... fealty ritual or whatever she did when she realized I was royalty. And it was my first time hearing her speak so much while I was understanding her.

I point to where Voss was hitching Custard up to the wagon. “Voss.”

Yua followed my pointing hand with her eyes, and nodded. “Voss,” she repeated.

I then pointed at our other companion. “Calliope.”

“Calliope.”

I lifted up a spoonful of porridge and let it splat back into the bowl. “Porridge.”

“Porridge,” she said with a nod, then, in her native tongue, “Breakfast.”

What could I do but smile and repeat it back to her. I was beginning to realize how difficult a process this might be. I could understand her perfectly, but that also meant I had to play along when she made that kind of mistake, thinking I was referring to the meal in general rather than the specific food.

This was going to be a long and frustrating process.

Soon enough, everyone was fed, the horses were prepared, and the fire was carefully stamped out. We did what we could to hide the signs of our passage- I didn't want to accidentally lead goblins right to the nice, pretty dryads that were willing to trade safety for sex.

Our day's travel was peaceful and surprisingly ordinary, compared with the stresses that we were under coming north. There were signs of the goblins, to be sure- tracks, crude campsites, skulls left on sticks to bleach by the roadside. But we weren't being chased, and we had all day to travel. We were not out of danger, but the pressure was off and we were well rested.

I ended up doubly thankful for the dryads and our mysterious archer friend when we finally got to Rhymer's Cross. As it turned out, our estimates were off- we only got to the beginning of farmland around the town by the time we would normally be looking for a place to camp, and decided to push until we managed to make it. By the time we finally saw the walls, it was twilight, and close to midnight when we finally were close enough to hammer at the gates.

The town itself was not large, as towns go, but larger than we had come to expect in the Lakelands- about halfway between Pendleton and Osgoode Gate. It was surrounded by a twenty foot tall wooden palisade, but one made of lumber and not just rough logs- the wall had been there for awhile. We couldn't see the bridge that gave the town it's name from where we were standing, but in the quiet of night we could certainly hear the river, somewhere off in the darkness.

Voss pounded on the gates for upwards of ten minutes, long enough to cause me to eye the surrounding wheat fields nervously. The moon and stars were providing generous light, and I could see for miles, but neither the goblins nor the townfolk had thought to slash and burn the fields. A whole host of goblins could be hiding out there in the lazily waving fields and we would never know.

A harsh voice came down from the top of the wall. “Alright, who's there? We don't have any room for more mouths to feed, if you're seeking shelter.”

I raised my eyes. Above us, at the top of the wall, were two crossbowmen- judging by the silhouettes they made against the sky, anyway- and a third man squinting down at us with a lantern. Fat moths fluttered around the lantern, making it flicker in an odd fashion.

I cleared my throat, and heeled Snacks forward. “We are a group of adventurers from the south. This is Sir Voss, a knight of Tresens. My lady Calliope and I are wizards, and our servant Yua is driving the cart. We have heard of your troubles from down in Pendleton, and rode here seeking to offer our skills in dealing with the goblin threat.”

I could hear the gate guards conferring, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Eventually, the lantern-guard shouted down, “You say you're wizards, right? Do something magic-y.”

Calliope and I exchanged glances at that. This certainly wasn't the welcome were were expected. I mentally ran down my list of prepared spells- nothing stood out to me as particularly helpful. I could cast Burning Hands, but they might take that as a threat. I could try summoning a Wall of Fog, but they might write that off as the weather. I could Knock their gate open, but even if the gate was small enough to be within my level limits it might still be construed as a threat....

Calliope ended up being the one to cut the Gordian knot. “You're asking for us to use magic, right? You're taking responsibility for that?”

“Yeah, sure, we need proof that you're not just more refugees.”

Calliope nodded, lifted her finger and invoked a Magic Missile to strike one of the big, fat moths fluttering around the guard's lantern.

Force of the blast knocked out the flame, at least, but the guard was understandably startled. I could hear him swear, and closed my eyes against the bits of brass, broken glass and lantern oil that rained on us. Snacks startled, and trotted away for a few steps before I was able to calm him down and wheel back around.

“Are we magic-y enough for you?” Calliope shouted back at the guards.

In response, the gate opened, and a thickets of spearheads was waiting on the other side for us.

The soldiers didn't spread out or try to surround us, they only lowered their pikes and planted themselves, preparing to prevent our entry at all cost. The soldiers themselves were in mismatched armour- here a greathelm worn by a man all in leather, here a pair of heavy gauntlets on a man otherwise clad in chain. 

I quietly reminded myself to remind Calliope of the virtue called patience.

A short woman stepped between a pair of pikemen, bearing a torch in one hand and a curved sword in the other. She peered at us in the dim light, and I could see she was exhausted. Perhaps once she had been pretty, but her cheeks had a familiar hollowness, and her eyes were bruised and bloodshot.

“Aye, I know old Rayger can be a bit of an oaf,” she eventually said, “And maybe he deserved what you just did to him. But if we let you in, will you go making trouble for us? We have problems enough as it is, and I need my soldiers to have all their bits attached.”

I bowed in the saddle. “Please pardon my lady. We're had a long, exhausting ride, harried by ambushes, and we were not prepared to have our intentions questioned. Of course, we should have expected you to be cautious.”

The woman gave a significant nod at Yua. “What's her story? I never saw a woman with antlers like that before.”

“She is a from a people foreign to us,” I explained, “From very far away. She has little grasp of Common, so I couldn't really tell you much about them.”

The woman gave a nod, as if deciding something. “Well, I'll gladly take the extra hands. If you're so eager to starve with the rest of us, you may as well get in here so we can bar the gates. I bid you welcome to Rhymer's Cross.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	12. Isekai Life & Town Arrival

The streets of Rhymer's Cross was crowded with tents and lean-tos. The night was quiet, and the sounds of our horses' hooves echoed from the buildings. Occasionally, a curious peasant or townsperson would peer at us from a window or shelter, as we were escorted through town by spearmen and their sardonic leader.

I look aside at her. She had mousy, short-cropped hair, a lean, wolfish figure, and was wearing studded leather armour. “So, uh, are you the captain of the militia, or...?”

“Shire-reeve,” she replied brusquely, “Or, at least, I was his daughter. Papa disappeared two months ago, and the mayor was killed in a raid three weeks gone. I stepped up, and so here we are.”

“Do attacks happen often?” I asked, “The fields outside don't look like a battlefield....”

“Aye, the gobbos don't attack our walls,” she explained, “They wait until we work the fields, or go foraging. Walls stop them, guards don't.”

“If that's the case, and you're still working the fields, why are there so many hungry people here...?”

She gave me a cutting glance. “Aye, I'd believe you're from Tresens. That's a dumb city-folk thing to say.”

I was opening my mouth to reply when she cut me off.

“The wheat's almost ready, aye. But once it's harvested it needs to be dried, which takes time. We've got enough hands to make the winnowing and grinding easy, but the drying can't be rushed. So, if the wheat is ready tomorrow, and we harvest it all, and the crows and the moles haven't eaten too much of it, and we don't lose any to mold, we would have usable flour in three months and probably not enough to feed everyone by that time.”

I frowned. “Then what is missing that you would be eating, otherwise?”

“Spring vegetables,” she replied, “Carrots, artichokes, and peas would be ready at this time. Last year's flour would still be good, and aye, we still have some, though we're mixing it with sawdust. We fish the river, but the fish have started avoiding the length within our walls. We would hunt, but the hunters get ambushed and are never seem again. We took in all the homesteaders who came seeking shelter, so our stores are getting gobbled up. Rationing is pushing us to the brink. So, you and your friends had better be worth taking in, because we've got maybe another week of rations left, then it's rats, boots and riverwater.”

Now that she was talking more, the things she was saying were so bleak I kind of regret pressing her for information....

“What's your name, anyway?” I asked, “I can't just call you 'Shire-reeve'.”

“Estrid.”

Well, at least we're back to one-word answers.

We drew up next to the shire-reeve's guard office. “You'll have some privacy, but the only place we have room is here in the cells,” Estrid said, “You can store stuff inside, I'll give you the keys so you can lock it up. I won't rob you, but if you have any fruit I will have to insist you trade most of it to us in exchange for other food. We're going to have a hard time with Sailor's Sickness soon.”

“We'll sort that out in the morning, if it's okay,” I replied as I dismounted Snacks and began to unbuckle my saddle. “Is there someone to help my kn- allies with their wounds? The goblins weren't gentle with us on our way in.”

I almost called Voss “my” knight. I'd have to be more careful if we were going to masquerade as just adventurers.

“Aye,” she replied, “I'll send along the high priest from the temple in the morning. He's been using his miracles to extend our food supplies, but I'll tell him to hold off on that to see to your wounds.”

I frowned. The people here won't love us if we keep stealing their priest away from casting Create Food & Water to tend to us. We would have to come up with new food, fast, on top of making headway against the goblins.

The cells were pretty basic, eight foot by eight foot cages with wooden walls and wrought iron gates in place of doors. Estrid handed us rust-spotted iron keys to open the locks, before departing to carry on with... whatever she was doing. The rest of the office was pretty simple, just a desk and some notepaper for the reeve, a framed map of the town, and an empty spear rack. 

As soon as Estrid wad out of sight, I heard Calliope sigh. “Such a welcoming and warm presence, isn't she?”

Pot, meet kettle.... “She's probably got a lot on her mind with this situation,” I replied, “But you're not wrong.”

Yua didn't seem perturbed at all by our new base of operations, and busied herself setting up my bedroll on one of the hard wooden benches in the cells. Voss stacked our chests in one of the cells, then ran a hand through his hair. “This is really all they have, huh....”

“They're probably giving up their ability to lock up troublemakers just to house us,” Calliope replied, “It's not like they have many other prospects for breaking out of this situation.”

Calliope sat down heavily on the second bench in the cell that Yua had picked out for me, the one without all the stuff in it. “What is our plan, then? The situation here seems pretty bad.”

“We have two problems to solve, ultimately, the food shortage and the goblins,” I said, looking at the framed map, “Working on the goblins helps the food shortage, since they'll be able to do more hunting and foraging, but all the same we might want to make some time to do something to help their food situation.”

“Okay, so I guess we hunt game while we hunt goblins, and try not to get the two mixed up,” Calliope said, “That seems simple enough.”

“We should also see if this priest guy has any acolytes he can spare,” Voss interjected, “We need someone who can heal us in the field... I swear, Theo, I was this close to gelding you the past few nights.”

My eyes went up in surprise. “Gelding...?”

“Yeah,” he said with a wry grin, “If you hadn't knocked up our only healer, we wouldn't be in this mess.”

You don't have to say it like that....

“We should also ask around, see if there are any other volunteers for our party,” Calliope said thoughtfully, “Surely there's someone our honourable shrine-reeve will spare to join our hunting party.”

I nodded. “I'd like to get an idea of where the goblins are coming from, first,” I said, “So I figure we'll do a series of searches. We'll start to the east, but each day we'll pick a direction and travel half a day out and back. Our main goal for now is locating the goblin stronghold. Once we have that information, we will have our hunting grounds.”

“And then...?” Voss replied.

“We pick off their patrols one by one, take back the countryside for the people, and when we're ready, assault them and wipe them out.”

“You make it sound so simple,” Calliope quipped sarcastically.

“Yeah, it'll probably be more complicated than that,” I said with a shrug, “But you can't expect me to have an answer for every problem right away. Our goal is simple: defeat the goblins and destroy their stronghold. So, I intend to begin by doing exactly that, and tackling any other problems as they happen to crop up.”

Calliope sighed and made an exaggerated shrug. “Whatever you wish, my prince.” 

After that, she said nothing else, as we settled in for our sleep, but her words had me awake and pondering long into the night.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	13. Isekai Life & First Recruit

I was awoken in the morning by the sound of prayer and the scent of incense. I groaned- while it was marginally better than a random patch of ground, the bench was hardly a comfortable place to sleep, and my back ached fiercely. For a moment, I felt a pang of sadness. Katriana would have never let me sleep in these kinds of conditions, but she was miles away. For literally the first time in my new life.

I shook my head and levered myself up from the bench. I couldn't bear to risk Katriana or Ashryn or our unborn children... but I could at least wish that we were adventuring in a big ol' city again, where I could visit them at any time while they held the fort at our base of operations. 

Rising, I took in what was actually happening in the Shire-reeve's office. An absolutely ancient old man- a white-haired wizen man with brittle white hair that matched his white robes- was chanting over Voss, who was lying down on the desk in the common area. Yua sat cross-legged beside the door, meditating or something with her sword close to hand. Calliope stood near Voss, with our map rolled up and in hand. 

Trying in vain to stretch the kinks out of my back, I headed over to Calliope. Quietly, so I wouldn't interrupt the prayers, I motioned at the old man and asked, “Our healer, I presume?”

Calliope gave a short nod. “He's already gone over Yua, just waiting for him to finish with Voss.”

I looked back at the old man. He was obviously in no shape to be adventuring. I could see a distinct tremor in his hands, and one of his eyes was clouded by a large cataract.

I grimaced. We're going to need to find another healer for the team. “I was hoping to recruit him, but....”

Calliope frowned. “We may need to do without,” she replied, “Unless you can conjure a priest with healing powers out of nowhere.”

I had a dark chuckle. “You know I'm a transmuter, not a conjurer.”

That gave her a small smile.

Voss sat up on his desk, swinging his legs around as the old man took a step back. With a grin, he hopped down lightly, experimentally kicking his leg. “Good as new,” he announced to nobody in particular, then turned to me. “I'm all ready for the goblin hunt. Bring them on!”

“Well, I'm glad you're feeling better,” I told him, “But we have a few things to do before heading out, so you'll have a few hours, at least, to enjoy your good health.”

“Sure, take as long as you need,” he replied, “I'm just feeling energetic. I could swear that last night was the first time in a long time that I got some real rest.”

Considering what happened the one night we were relatively safe, he wasn't lying.

“Um, excuse, er, father?” I said, approaching the priest, as he was preparing to leave, “We are looking to have a cleric join our party when we go hunting for goblins. Would you happen to have any kind of acolyte or assistant that can use magic?”

“Oh, you are, are you?” He blinked at me sleepily, “Too bad my own adventuring days are behind me... but, no, lad, a provincial priest like myself has no students.”

Shit. I turned to Calliope and Voss. “Well, perhaps if we sally out, we can just get healed when we come back in? It means we can't really camp in the field, though.”

Calliope had a thoughtful expression. “I suppose it would work to begin with. We could always send a rider back...”

The little old man loudly cleared his throat, drawing our attention.

“I did not say I was the only cleric in town,” he said.

That was how Yua and I found ourselves standing outside a filthy dockhouse in the north end of Rhymer's Cross.

After some discussion, Voss and Calliope agreed to stay behind to monitor the trade of our iron rations with the local militia, which we were still expecting. So it was left to Yua and I to go actually make the pitch to the town's other cleric.

It was not a shock, when two and two were put together, that the old man cleric would know of this guy and Estrid would not. Suleyar, the last child of the All-Father by Lathlys, the celestial goddess. By the time of his birth, the marriage between Lathlys and the All-Father had long since gone cold. Neglected by his father, and often overlooked by his mother, Suleyar was quiet and kept to himself, choosing to gather secrets and listen rather than speak. Thus, Suleyar became the God of Secrets.

It didn't seem that it was a complete tale- the old man seemed vague, especially compared to Ashryn's more lively tales- but to Estrid, the priest of Suleyar in town would just seem to be an drunk and occasional thief. The old man was made aware of his colleague after investigating reports of healing being done to the townsfolk, worrying that a charlatan was taking advantage of people's suffering. Instead, he found a legitimate cleric of uncertain morality who merely acted like a charlatan.

I approached the door, which seemed to be fashioned out of driftwood and baling wire, and knocked, loudly.

Then, after no answer came, I knocked again, even louder. When there was no other answer, Yua impatiently stepped forward and pushed the door open.

The interior of the dockhouse was filled with with the reek of malt and the husks of rotting boats. Nobody had seriously used this place for some time, which made it an ideal hideout for someone without a lot of money, I suppose.

There were signs of habitation, however. A long, low table- no more than a foot off the ground- held a crude glass still. Bags, casks, and a leather backpack sat in the corner, and at the mouth of where the dockhouse let out into the river, a short, pudgy gnome stood pissing into the river.

The gnome gave a heavy sigh without turning around. “You know, if someone doesn't answer the door when they're home, it's usually because they don't want to be disturbed,” he said, not turning around.

Yua glanced back at me, hand on the hilt of her greatsword. “Not necessary,” I told her in her own language, before stepping forward. “Well, our time is short, so I hope you'll forgive the intrusion,” I replied, “Are you Brother Raszil?”

The gnome finished tucking himself away, thankfully, before he turned to the sill. “What's it to you?” he asked offhandedly, wiping his hands off on a leather vest. He had a rat's nest of orange hair, a soft face, and a sharp, aquiline nose. He trudged over to the still, grabbed up a pewter mug, and twisted a knob, allowing a drizzle of dark brown liquid to pour into the cup. The gnome tossed back the liquid, and smacked his lips with satisfaction. “Perfection itself.”

I frowned. “Isn't this town rationing food?”

“Perhaps they are, do I look like a human?” he replied, giving me a suspicious eye. “But you wouldn't be out here looking for Brother Raszil if you weren't willing to overlook something like that.” For the first time, he seemed to notice Yua, and had an almost comical double-take. “What's with her? I've never heard of humans with antlers.”

I glanced from Yua, back to the gnome. “She's not from around here.”

“No shit,” he grew a lecherous grin, “Tell you what, girlie, if you show me yours I'll show you mine. If you let me see what's under all that mail I could teach you how to pleasure a gnome, what do you say?”

Yua gave me an uncomprehending look. I glanced back at the gnome. “She doesn't speak common, either.”

“Oh yeah?” he tilted his head, staring at her, “I will eat your ass. Be happy to. Just stick my tongue straight in there and wiggle it around til you squeal. Don't even care how long it's been since your last bath. I'd drink your piss, too, gargle it before guzzling it down like thirsty man in a desert.” When Yua just gave me another bewildered shrug after this tirade, the gnome finally nodded. “Yeah, guess she's really not fluent. You shouldn't have given that for free, though. Could come in handy one of these days.”

“Master, am I being insulted?” Yua asked softly.

“No, it's fine,” I said to her, reached out to put a hand on one of her arms. The last thing I needed was for the gnome to critically fail a Charisma check and get bisected by her.

“She going to be okay?”

“Yes, don't worry about her,” I focused my attention on the gnome. “Look, I'm the leader of an adventuring party that wants to help with this goblin problem, and we need a cleric with healing powers to assist us.”

“And you want that cleric to be Brother Raszil, huh?” He wiped his hands once more on his vest and offered one to me in a handshake. “Guess I should drop the charade, huh? It's just Raszil, though. The priests of my order never take titles.”

I gave his hand a shake, then made sure to check without looking that all my rings were still in place. “Theodore.”

“So, Theodore, what's in it for me? Surely you didn't hear about a priest of Suleyar and expect him to just totter along obediently.”

“Well, I thought about paying you,” I admitted, “But I figured I could offer you something you might find even better.”

“Oh yeah?” he said, raising an eyebrow, “What's that?”

“The chance to find out why two wizards, a knight of Tresens and Yua here came to the ass end of nowhere to fight some goblins.”

Raszil barked a laugh. “Yeah, maybe. I'll admit, you have me piqued. But that's not enough.”

I shrugged. “It beats starving, getting enslaved by goblins, or getting butchered?”

“I don't think that rushing to die in a field or a river somewhere is an improvement over staying here and dying warm and drunk,” he shook his head, “Come on, I thought you wizards were smart.”

“It's less boring?”

“Bingo.” Raszil sighed. “I'm sick to death of these fucking farmers. The bar is low for now, but you'd best get interesting quick.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 2 Cleric/Level 2 Thief), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp  
Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Ryujin

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 2 Cleric/Level 2 Thief), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	14. Isekai Life & Stressful Moment

When we returned to the Shire-Reeves's office, there was quite a crowd. A group of sunken-cheeked and hollow-eyed villagers had gathered and stood, watching the building with uncertainty. A pair of the city watch's guardsmen were protecting our wagon with spears, eyeing the crowd warily, so at least our wagon would be unmolested, though most of the real valuables were inside, safely locked in a cell. 

As gently as I could, I began to shoulder my way through the crowd, begging pardons and excusing myself the whole way. I got partway through the crowd, when a bony hand seized my arm. I turned and saw a hollow-cheeked man, unnaturally aged by hunger, who seemed to stare past me.

“They took my boy, those goblins did,” he muttered, “'Is name was... is... Karl. He's a wagon wheel tall. A whole wagon wheel.” The man's eyes started tearing up, and his grip on me got tighter. “He's got chestnut hair, just like his mum. His mum....”

Slaves, women, meat, in gutteral goblin, came unbidden to my mind.

“Uh, yes, goodman,” I replied, gently trying to pry his fingers off my arm, “I'll be sure to keep an eye out for your boy.”

I barely managed to extricate myself from the man, when a young, starved-looking woman with a prominent birthmark took his place. “My husband went hunting,” she said, in a pleading tone, although she didn't ask anything, and just repeated, “My husband when hunting.”

After that, it was like a dam had burst. People surrounded me, reaching for me, trying to grasp my robes. “My mother....” said one, and then another shouted, “You have to find my baby!” “My friend! My friend!” The rest was lost in the babble of pleading voices. My heart thundered in my ears, and my breath came ragged and thin, like a hand was slowly tightening on my throat.

Slaves, women, meat.

“Can I have your attention please!”

All the voices stopped immediately to regard Raszil. The redheaded, pudgy gnome had managed to climb aboard the wagon, and now stood barely a head over the crowd, with his arms outstretched. Nonetheless, his voice rang through like a bell, and he seemed to have the crowd enraptured.

“We will do our utmost to try and find all the missing people of this village,” he continued, his voice somehow projecting the kind of confidence that assured that all would be set to right by a firm yet gentle authority.

“However, we can't do our work so long as the rest of you aren't doing yours,” he said, his tone suggesting a gentle chastisement, “Please, good people of Rhymer's Cross, there are arrows to be fletched, walls to be mended, spear-hafts to be hardened over fire. Please, return to your duties, and allow the good mage Theodore and his companions to return to theirs.”

People all around me began murmuring their agreement, quietly releasing their hold on me, and Yua gave me a nudge towards the door, breaking the hold of what I suddenly realized was Raszil's spell. We hurried along inside the office, while the crowd of hungry villagers murmured among each other about what Raszil had orated, and- very slowly- dispersing.

Once we were safely out of sight, I collapsed against a wall and gasped for air. I trembled uncontrollably. Even in the middle of battle, nothing quite like that had even happened to me. The people reaching for me, tugging at me....

I felt gentle hands grasp my shoulders, pulling me forward. Calliope's scent filled my nostrils as she pulled me into a comforting hug. For a long, wordless, moment, we just stood there, her holding me while I trembled like a leaf in the wind.

“You scared me,” she said, softly and without a hint of accusation.

“Y-yeah...” was the only thing I could mutter in response.

“I can hear your heartbeat...” she said, “You seem so strong most of the time, so brilliant and cunning, but Katriana was right, your health....”

“Y-yeah, I guess.” I certainly didn't expect to be suddenly and violently reminded of my low Constitution score. Dog was certainly not cutting me any slack just because I happened to have slightly higher HP, now, was he?

I heard someone clear their throat uncomfortably.

“Uh... Greetings! I am Raszil, I understand your adventuring party is in need of my assistance.”

“Oh... right. I'm Voss, a... knight. I guess you already know Yua here. This is Moruca, another new recruit, I guess.”

“Charmed,” came a third, reedy old woman's voice.

I tried to pull away from Calliope, but she held me fast and looked into my eyes. “Are you really ready to go, or do you need another minute?” Her gaze held no judgment or consternation, only concern.

My pulse had slowed down to normal, and the trembles had stopped, so I gave her a nod. Only then did she release me.

“Uh, yeah, sorry about that....” I looked around the room. The new voice belonged to a tough, wizened old knot of a woman, who resembled a gnarled old branch. She was clad in a plain woolen tunic and leggings, with leather armour strapped on over top, and while she had a bitter cast to her features, and one was clouded with cataracts, her once clear eye was bright and a aware. “Uh, I'm Theodore. I guess I'm sort of the leader around here.”

“Right,” Moruca replied, looking doubtfully at me.

Voss quickly explained. “When that Shire-Reeve was here, Calliope brought up getting volunteers from her guards to join us. The Reeve didn't want anyone to go over, but Moruca stayed and told the Reeve to try and keep her from killing goblins.” He shrugged, “I don't know how well she fights, but that was pretty badass.”

I recalled Estrid's intimidating, no-bullshit presence. If this Moruca was able to beat her at her own game, well, at least we won't be short on bad attitude. “Can you fight?” I asked, curiously, “I mean, I've known some pretty tough old buzzards at academy, but they had magic on their side. I'm not about to turn down free help, but....”

“Look, boy,” she sneered at me in response, “I've known these woods since I was a wee girl, I know every track and every river better than my poor departed mother's face. I'm a better shot with one eye than most folks who shoot with two. All I want is to feather them goblins like fair day hens.”

By the look of some of the swollen joints on her hands, I had a little doubt about her shooting skill. At her age, she'd be at -3 Strength, -2 Dex, -1 Con due to aging effects... but she would also be collecting bonuses to her Wisdom and Intelligence. So, assuming she was a top-notch archer when she was young, she'd still be decent-to-pretty-good now, but her tracking and woodscraft would be higher than ever, which was even more important.

“Alright, welcome aboard,” I said simply, “But we can't be slowing down for you to keep up. You'll have to pull your weight same as everyone else.”

“Boy, if I start to slow you down, you have my permission to leave me,” she replied, “I'm going to die out there with a weapon in my hand, not starving to death cowering behind some gods-be-damned wall.”

Well, that settled that.

“Then, could you please lend us your expertise, and hear out our rough plan?”

The old woman grunted, and came to join me at the desk where I spread out our map. I explained our plan as best as I could, wanted to sortie out in everything direction, hunting for wherever the goblins made their lair.

Moruca shook her head. “Nah, that won't work. The Lakelands aren't like that. If you head a day out straight east, you'll have to ford a half-dozen rivers and get in maybe a half-day's distance, wet boots and eaten by leeches besides.”

“So what do you recommend?” Calliopse asked, “We've managed to narrow down that the goblin tribe in camped somewhere within a night's travel of the road south of here, but we don't have much information beyond that.”

The old woman contemplated the map silently, then nodded. “I can think of three places that be fittin' your description, each one is a way's out though. We'll have to check 'em each one by one.”

“Then that's what we'll do,” I said, fetching the pen and ink from my backpack. “Where are we looking at?”

Moruca ended up pointing out a boggy island shortly to the west of the road, a ruined village that was unmarked but apparently was a slightly out-of-the way stopover between Pendleton and Rhymer's Cross. I dutifully circled each point on the map. Lastly she tapped the old fortress on the coast, well out of the way of the south road.

“Really?” I asked, taking a second look. “I know it's a hand-drawn map, but I don't think the proportions are that warped as to put the coast within a day of the road....”

“That's 'cuz you aren't thinking, boy,” she replied sharply, “Imagine you're looking to raid us here at the village and you're on the coast. You put your gobbo boys on a boat in the morning, they sail upriver with the evening tide for a few hours, using the current to propel them upstream. They conduct their raid or patrol, then turn about and zip back home with the morning tide. Be doubly attractive for nocturnal creatures like them gobbos.”

I thumbed the map idly. That seemed to make sense. “Alright, then,” I said simply, “Tonight will be a dry run. We will leave this afternoon, search some nearby farmsteads for food, and set up an ambush for any goblins that happen to come hunting near the city walls. I want to make sure that we can cooperate with our new party members before we get in over our heads. If everything works out, I'd like to start checking the sites Moruca mentioned on our next expedition.”

“But what if no goblins show up?” Voss asked, “These people are too afraid to leave, and we were a day or more away from here when we were first ambushed. The last time we saw goblins was three nights ago. What if they've moved on?”

“A fair point,” I granted, “but by now they know that we're here, that someone was out and about, killing them. I imagine whatever chieftain is in charge of the goblins wants answers, or at least revenge, and the most likely place to look for us is the city fulls of humans that is increasingly desperate against them.”

Voss frowned. “But what if these goblins aren't behaving in the most logical fashion? What if they don't know about the situation here?”

Before I could respond, Calliope chimed in. “Theodore may be overthinking it, but what he is saying is fundamentally sound. Think like a brute for a moment- you minions have died, someone in your zone of control is defying you and murdering your underlings. Some of said underlings might even be thinking that if the perpetrators aren't found, there might be reason to have a new goblin king... or whatever.” She made a fist. “So you have to set an example, by finding the nearest group of victims,” she said, before dramatically punching her palm, “And punishing them.”

“And those victims would be the people here, in this village,” I finished.

I mean, maybe I was overthinking things, but fundamentally Calliope was agreeing with me, right?

“Get some extra rest and get ready,” I continued, “We'll head out this afternoon, and we'll be up all night into the morning, so make sure you're ready for that.”

The others murmured their agreement. First to leave was Moruca, but as Raszil was heading for the door I intercepted him.

“O captain my captain,” Raszil said with some amusement as he saw me heading for him, “That was a bit of a stressful moment out there, wasn't it? I take it you've never really dealt with large crowds of people.”

“I suppose not...” I said uneasily, “I just wanted to say thank you, for intervening back there.”

Raszil paused and looked me in the eyes for a time, evaluating me. Long enough for me to shift uncomfortably and look away. It was hard enough to look into the eyes of someone you know, nevermind the next thing to a complete stranger.

“It's no matter,” he said, eventually, “Most of the spells I find that I have a day to day use for aren't the kind that will be very practical for this little operation of yours, so I have to use them anyway.” He smiled, “I'll be back in a few hours. Until this afternoon, o captain my captain.”

And with that, he headed out.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5121/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (43), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues, plain gold wedding ring.

Money: 350 gp, 332 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 2 Cleric/Level 2 Thief), Moruca (Ranger 2), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	15. Isekai Life & Tactical Flour

Voss decided to have a nap while we waited, and I wanted to follow suit, but first, Yua needed to be informed of our plans. So I got her to sit down and a chair, and tried my best.

“We will go...” I said in her language, and had to pause. Had she ever said the words for 'hunt' or 'fight' around me before? “...Hit bad things,” was what I settled on. “Tonight,” I continued, “So sleep now.”

Yua stared at me oddly for a moment, then nodded. “We will go, tonight, and kill evil creatures. My blade is yours, my lord,” she finished by pressing a closed fist to her chest and bowing. “I will rest, as you have ordered.”

Well, that ended up being pretty easy.

While Yua joined Voss in the cell, Calliope took her place in the chair by the desk. For a long moment she stared at me, head in her hands.

Being stared at by a woman always makes me uncomfortable, but I tried to maintain composure, distracting myself by examining her features. She lacked any of Katriana's slender, regal beauty, or Ashryn's ethereal qualities, but she had a plainer, more earthy sort of attractiveness that belied her skill at magic.

Not for the last time, it struck me how lucky I was to have three women of her calibre interested in me.

“I have a problem.”

Unfortunately, my plan not to squirm under her stare backfired when I was so distracted it actually startled me when she spoke.

“Um, pardon?”

“I have a problem, Theodore.”

“Okay,” I replied, as I tried to re-compose myself, “What is your problem?”

“Well, to start with, my darling fiance has been cavorting around with dryads while I've had to sit by and get nothing,” she said with a nice, big, fake smile plastered on her face.

To say I was startled would be an understatement. Considering how quickly she dropped the topic of the dryads that morning, I had thought I had gotten away with it.

“You knew about that...?” 

“Well, I know for sure now,” she said with a sardonic grin, easing back in her chair with her arms crossed.

Well, crap.

Calliope gave a bitter little chuckle. “Please, Theodore, relax. If I had a problem with you having sex with other women, I wouldn't be here. I'd prefer that you kept it, well, in the family, but with the weird standards we're sort of setting for ourselves, having sex with some dryads isn't the worst thing.”

“As long as I don't get some weird dryad social disease, I'm sure,” I replied.

Calliope gave another chuckle. “Well, I wouldn't make a habit out of it,” she said airily, “If you do a lot of screwing around on three wives we're going to start wondering what we can't provide. And on that wild run north with goblins on heels, I couldn't provide. So that's why I'm letting you off so easily.”

She had a point... although I was kind of strong armed in that situation. “How do you feel about all of this?” I asked, “You didn't seem one hundred percent on board with everything, and now that you have me all to yourself, we've hardly getting any time alone.”

Now it was Calliope's turn to look a little defensive. “I am disappointed that I haven't gotten you all to myself,” she said after a moment to collect her thoughts, “And, well, I guess there's a little juvenile part of me that is jealous of all the attention you get, and are going to get.”

I waited, silently. She trailed off, but Calliope didn't seem to be quite done yet.

After a few moments, she rewarded my patience. “Logically, there's a man I can't live without, so if I have to share him because he can't live without these other two girls, so be it,” she said, “But, it's not always that simple, particularly when I feel like I'm letting you down because Katriana and Ashryn are giving you children already, and I'm not. Sure, this particular moment it helps me that they are incapable of adventuring, and I am, but it's not always going to be the same.

“So, long term, I don't know what I'm going to do,” she concluded with an exasperated sigh, “If I'm feeling this petty and jealous now with only two other wives, how am I going to feel with five? Eleven?” She shifted uncomfortably, looking at her hands. “I don't know. Maybe you should pass me over. Maybe I'll make a terrible wife.”

That kind of shook me. I had no idea that Calliope was having these kinds of thoughts- sure, she didn't always get along with Katriana, but I didn't think it was to the point that Calliope wanted “out”.

“I... I...” I stammered, unsure of how to proceed. Was there supposed to be this kind of rejection in my personal Heaven? “I... maybe... now's not the time....”

“It's fine, Theodore, really,” Calliope said, biting her lip, “I guess I'm just having cold feet. Katriana and Ashryn are both very beautiful, and... well... I'm just a plain farmer's daughter who happens to have learned some magic.” She gave a bitter chuckle. “And I'm foolish enough to risk being able to live as queen over my own insecurity.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but she cut me off by standing suddenly. “I'm just wasting your time, now, aren't I? I'm going to get some rest. We need to be rested for tonight.”

I quickly reached over and grabbed her by the wrist, just as she was walking away. She didn't look at me.

But now that I had her, what to say?

“I... want you, here, I mean... In my life,” I said, lamely, “I mean, I don't know how to make you feel better, exactly, but you belong in this family because I say you belong here. So... don't compare yourself to others.”

Without looking back, Calliope shook her hand free. “Come on, Theodore, let's get some rest, alright?”

And just like that, I blew whatever chance I had of settling Calliope's anxiety. 

You'd think that, after that, I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I suppose I was still recovering- either from the flight away from the goblins or the panic attack (I think?) I received from getting swarmed by the crowd, take your pick. I napped pretty soundly until a gentle hand shook me awake.

I was hoping to see Calliope again, but no, it was Voss, fully armoured in his platemail. “It's time to move, boss,” he said with a bit of a grin, “Noon's well past, your new minions are back, and we're just waiting on you.”

I nodded and rose. Calliope was there, doing a last minute check of her saddlebags. Yua was at the ready, greatsword strapped to her back and armoured in Katriana's old scale. Moruca was giving me a skeptical look, while Raszil merely rolled his eyes, and muttered, “I resent being called a minion, thank you very much.”

There was no point in inspirational speeches or brave words- we knew what we had to do.

“Let's go,” I said, after checking my own bag, “We should hit the farmhouses before we're out of daylight.”

I'm sure to the people of Rhymer's Cross, we must have made an odd sight- lead by Voss, looking almost like a proud knight, followed by the old woman with the longbow, and then me, the sickly, pudgy wizard. Fourth was the gnome sipping from a flask as he rode, then the pretty mage girl and last, the silent swordswoman with antlers.

Almost like we were a real adventuring party already.

The afternoon sky was beginning the redden by the time we reached the first homestead. Gathering food was fairly easy, since so much had been simply abandoned. The fear of becoming like their neighbours to the north- who vanished completely- must have already had these people on edge when the goblins showed up. We found sacks of grain and flour, sausages left out to cure, and all sorts of vegetables left on the vine that we could pick. There was a real bounty, not hours outside the city walls, but the people of Rhymer's Cross were too afraid to seek it out.

We were just cleaning out one last storehouse, when the sun was finally setting below the horizon. I nodded, and turned to Moruca. “Alright, do you know a good place where we could set up an ambush?” I asked.

She nodded. “Down by the riverside, 'tis not far.”

She took us to where some enterprising farmers had built a tall embankment of rough-hewn granite slabs, a levee to keep the river from their fields in case of a flood. It had a commanding view up and down the river, and overlooked a bridge along the main road east, and a flame from up there would be easily spotted.

We gathered what dry would we could find and stacked up a sizable bonfire, one that would burn late into the night. We surrounded it with a patch of upturned earth, to keep the grass from catching, while I explained my plan.

“We pile up these bags of flour right here, by the fire,” I said, pointing to a patch of ground only a few feet away.

Calliope and Voss exchanged glances, while Moruca's brow furrowed. “I thought part of this operation was to gather food for the sots at the Cross, and we're just leaving out flour for goblins to piss on?” the old woman said, without bothering to hide her annoyance.

“It'll be worth it, trust me,” I said, “Calliope, when you see goblins in the firelight, I want you to put a magic missile right into these bags, alright? Then we commence our attack.”

“Alright, if that's what you want, Theodore,” Calliope replied, still sounding skeptical.

We headed off into a stand of trees not far from the levee. My hope was that the wargs with the goblins would get confused, and think our scent came from the campsite itself. We hobbles our horses (and Raszil's pony), prepared ourselves, and waited while the bonfire burned. It was a long night, but the intensity of waiting to spring our trap kept us awake, even though we had to be perfectly silent.

It was close to dawn- I almost thought that our ambush was going to trigger on nothing- when the first shadowy figure flitted in front of the flames. Then another. I heard the creak of Moruca's bowstring, and the familiar sound of steel whispering on leather.

“Wait,” I said, softly as I could. The silhouettes in front of the flames were small, and I recalled the ambushes past, how the goblins often formed a first wave, and the worgs were saved for after. But of course, the goblins would investigate things, but wouldn't be able to track us....

When the first pony-sized shadow fell across the flame, head bent to the ground, sniffing, I gave the command. “Now!”

Calliope's magic missile flew, a bright blue bolt in the darkness, and landed among the flour sacks. Predictably, the exploded, the simple force of the missile cause a great cloud of flour to envelop the levee top like a fog. Then, it exploded in a fireball that momentarily turned night to day.

The explosion was brief, and probably didn't have much force, but it was enough to provide the chaos that we needed. Some of the goblins were already down, those closest to fire still and burning in the moonlight, while the others scattered. Some were fleeing the xplosion towards us, and I responded by tossing my darts in their direction, though in the darkness it was impossible to tell if they struck home or not.

What was immediately noticeable was when, to my left I saw Raszil spinning in place. Momentarily confused, I realized what was happening when I saw the firelight gleaming off of a heavy, metal throwing hammer as it spun out and clobbered one of the oncoming goblins with a sickening thump.

By the time our “volley” was done, goblin bodies littered the ground. Of the original patrol we had ambushed, only four were still upright, being chivvied into place by some of the worgs. Not a single worg had fallen to the explosion- expected, perhaps, but more dismaying was their sheer number. I suppose this patrol was sent out to find us in particular, as they had a huge pack of nine worgs with them, and every one of them was singed, pissed-off and closing in on our location.

I tossed my darts into the oncoming rush of fur and slavering jaws, and then stepped back to get ready for a real fight. Raszil followed suit, after unleashing a second hammer, cursing loudly as he began to fully appreciate the situation, and unlimbered his buckler and mace. Yua stepped forward into a defensive stance before me, and the goblins, being driven before the worgs, fell upon her, knives and crude clubs skittering off her mail. Voss pulled his halberd from where he had stuck it, blade-down into the earth nearby, and in a single stroke slammed it into the side of an oncoming worg, tossing it aside with a pained yelp. Moruca got off one last arrow, and the worgs were here.

One of the worgs came right for me, jaws snapping shut on empty air as the blue flash of my Armor protected me. Raszil was less lucky, and one of the worgs came in low under his buckler and savage him in the thigh. There was hardly time to survey the damage when Calliope stepped forward, arms raised, spraying the two worgs with a Burning Hands spell.

What could I do but follow suit? I made the Sigil and canted the runes, and added my fire to Calliope's. I wasn't sure how effective sleep would be, with so many high-hp monsters nearby, and I didn't want to risk putting my own allies to sleep with these brutes around. Burning Hands proved more than sufficient to put these brutes down, however, and by the time the jet of flames from my outstretched fingers subsided, the two worgs were burning quietly to themselves, unmoving.

Yua was holding her own against the goblins, of course, but in this situation her greatsword was wasted- unable to get in her full damage potential against the the small, screeching humanoids. That situation would need correction- fast. Voss wasn't doing much better with his halberd, accomplishing little except to ward off the massive wolves.

It was Moruca that forced me into action, as she came yelling out of the night to hack one of the goblins off Yua with a hatchet. Calliope followed, slashing with her dagger. I tossed my darts at one of the wolves, though I had no idea if I actually hit anything.

Free of the remaining goblins, Yua was able to charge and strike home on one of the worgs, while Voss dispatched a second. The numbers were beginning to even up- though no doubt the worgs still possessed much more HP than the rest of us. I decided now would be the time to risk it, and cast the Sleep spell. I tried to position myself so that the only creatures that would be affected were Voss and the worgs surrounding him, and let fly with the sand. To my surprise, one of the worgs immediately fell to the ground, asleep- for once my poor luck with Sleep worked on our side, and Voss was unaffected. We now had the advantage of numbers, and it was time to finish this.

The last work was bloody, but slowly we began to make make gains on the worgs. Moruca, to surprise, fought with a ferocity I did not expect from such an old lady, laying into the worgs with swift chops of her little hatchet. Calliope went straight in with her dagger, as usual, although Yua and Voss did most of the work. I even managed to find an opportunity to peg one worg in the eye with a dart, sending it crashing to the ground. Only Raszil held off- though, given how severe his wounds must have been, I wasn't surprised. 

The final tally, twelve dead goblins and nine worgs, and we were all still on our feet. Some just barely- Voss, Yua and Raszil were all on their last legs- but we had survived our very first ambush, as a team.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5462/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (35), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 452 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 2 Cleric/Level 2 Thief), Moruca (Ranger 2), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	16. Isekai Life & Goblin Montage

“Dammit, watch what you're doing!”

“Sorry!” I grimaced and shifted my grip on the needle. It turns out, gnomes were smaller than humans in ever dimension- even in skin thickness.

We were gathering ourselves in the early dawn. Moruca and Calliope busied themselves with turning the bonfire into a proper pyre for all the goblins and wargs, while it was left for me to tend to the wounded.

“Why aren't you healing us, anyway?” Voss asked, examining his own set of fresh stitches that lined one arm, “Didn't we take you on because we needed a cleric?”

Raszil glowered at Voss through his one eye that wasn't swollen shut. “I don't normally go finding trouble like this,” he explained bitterly, “If you asked me to purify a drink so you don't get the shits, or protection against how hellishly hot it gets sometimes in summer, aye, I'd be able to help you out. But I can't come up with fresh miracles on the spot- I'll need to pray for divine interventions fresh after we've rested.”

As good an explanation as any as to how spell slots worked, I suppose.

“So, how is what you do different from what Calliope and Theodore do?” Voss asked in reply, “That sounds almost exactly like their kind of magic.”

The knowledge came to me, unbidden, but at this point I was more or less used to the senesation of remembering things I was never really “present” for when “I” learned them. “Clerics can only hold so much of their patron diety's divine power at once,” I explained, “They request miracles through prayer, and their god or gods infuse some of their divine power into them. For us wizards, it's the energy that courses through us when a spell cast that blasts the knowledge of that spell from our minds. Through focused study it's possible to retain a spell for multiple castings, but that simply delays the inevitable.”

I tapped Raszil on the shoulder. “You're done, switch with Yua,” and then chided him, “And be careful, I don't want to have to kneel between your spread legs and sew up your thigh again.” To Voss, I continued, “I know to a layman it might seem like a really subtle difference, and I don't have a complete understanding of it myself, but you can tell the difference in some of the subtleties. There exist arcane spells whose purpose is to help you memorize additional, weaker spells, but clerics can't do that. Clerics can combine their powers to beseech the gods for more powerful miracles, but mages can't do that. To say nothing of how clerics are capable of miraculous healing, and wizards cannot.”

In 2nd edition AD&D, bards couldn't use Cure Light Wounds. It was the god way or the highway. Or, the healing proficiency, I suppose, but that would be dramatically less efficient.

While Voss pondered over my impromptu lesson (or just tuned me out entirely, which was certainly possible), Yua came over and took her seat on the stump in front of me. I asked her, in her own tongue, to show me her injuries, and she showed off a few shallow cuts in her side where her scale shirt was riding up.

I took a double take. Just a little while ago she seemed to be really badly injured, and I had seen those goblins crawling all over her, trying to drive their daggers under her armour. But now... her worst injuries seemed to amount to no more than scratches, and some places there was only unmarred flesh where she'd clearly been bleeding on the inside of her armour. I had to stitch closed a couple of the worst wounds, but that is all.

Judging by her expression, Yua was getting increasingly uncomfortable with my poking and prodding at her while I puzzled away, so I stopped and sat back.

“How are you alright?” I asked, “You were hurt a lot worse before.”

She didn't respond at first, taking the time instead to adjust her armour, and, I assume, collect herself. “It is nothing, my lord,” she said, after a long moment, “Do not worry yourself about it.”

I honestly didn't know where to take my inquiry from there. I knew nothing about what Dragonborn (I assume that's what she's supposed to be) were supposed to be like in 2nd edition. They were an invention of 4th edition, a response to the common criticism that there were often few dragons in “Dungeons and Dragons”, and were never a part of AD&D. I don't know what kind of bizarre house rules Corgiel had come up with for the race in this setting. Did they have regeneration? Did they have a Constitution bonus high enough to give Yua natural regeneration? I hadn't seen her deploy a breath weapon yet....

Yua got fed up with me trying to figure it out, and just readjusted her armour and got up.

“What was that about?” Voss inquired after she was out of earshot, helping Calliope with the pyre.

“I'm not at all certain...” I trailed off with a sigh. “I'm losing my touch, Voss. I have no idea what to say to Calliope or what's going on with Yua.”

“My heart goes out to you,” my knight said, dryly.

I frowned at him for that, and he raised his hands defensively. “Come on, what do you want me to say? That I'm so sad your third wife is upset with you, and your next piece of ass is being terse?”

“She's not my next piece of ass, nor yours,” I said, feeling a little cross, “I guess... I'm just now realizing how little we know about Yua. I'm beginning to understand her language, but she does a lot that we don't understand. Have you noticed how quickly she recovers from injuries? It's uncanny.”

It was Voss' turn to frown and turn to examine Yua. “You know she prays at night, right? I wouldn't be surprised if you missed it, given how deep you tend to sleep.”

“She does?” I had no idea, of course.

“Something like that, at least. She sits cross-legged and mutters to herself. I noticed it a few times getting up to make water, or just when I had a hard time sleeping.”

I guess we really didn't have any idea what Yua was about. “Well, considering how she was when we first met her, I doubt she means us harm....”

“Theodore, don't mistake meaning us no harm with being a good person. Mariska didn't mean us harm, either, until we got in her way.”

While I could debate as to whether “summoning the god of destruction” is “intended harm” or not, Voss' words did cause me to recall one thing- how, despite being party members, Mariska, Gogol and Ricard were completely different people with vastly different goals and circumstances. I've mulled over, in idle moments, what might have happened had Ricard bought Gogol's loyalty first, or even if Gogol was just a decent enough guy to tell Ricard about Mariska....

“When she seems more patient, I'll try to talk to her, figure out what's going on,” I promised Voss.

Voss nodded, and clapped me on the shoulder. “Come on, let's just get back to Rhymer's Cross so I can get all this damn thread of yours out of me.”

With everyone focusing on feeding the pyre, cleaning up after our battle didn't take long. Well, almost everyone- Raszil was content to sit on his pony and complain about not pulling his stitches.

The trip back to Rhymer's Cross was much less dramatic than our journey out. We stopped here and there, partly to give our injuries team members time to rest and partially to check other homesteads for supplies. By the time we returned to the town, we were laden with sacks of flour and cornmeal, bags of fresh vegetables, and strings of smoked sausage and jerky. 

When we arrived, it was still the early morning. I would like to say we were treated like returning heroes, but that wasn't the case. The people of Rhymer's Cross were simply too depressed to rejoice at our return, even when we started unloading the food we captured into the warehouse where the rations were kept.

Estrid kept up her end of the bargain, sending the old cleric to tend to our wounded while she nodded with approval over our contributions. “I honestly didn't think you were going to pull through,” she said, her voice only a few degrees warmer than when we first met, “This won't be enough to extend our rations for more than a day, but it's something.”

“We haven't even started yet!” Voss bragged with a bit of a grin, “A few more ambushes like last night your men can start taking back the fields.”

Estrid responding skeptically, with only a cold “Perhaps.”

After having a well-deserved rest, still in our cells at the Shire-Reeve's office, we headed off again, this time to the southwest, searching a new batch of homesteads for food. Our “take” was the same as before, flour, dried meat, some fresh vegetables, although this time we were able to supplement it with some wild garlic Moruca found.

Our trap that night wasn't as elaborate as the previous night's. We simply built a roaring fire on the hearth of one of the abandoned farmhouses, and waited in the darkness for the goblins to investigate. Our basic method was generally the same, however- peg them with ranged attacks and let them come to us, which was a little bit harder because we could only see so many goblins in the light of the open windows, compared to the naked bonfire of the night previous.

We did end up attracting goblins, as intended, but the battle was brief- over so quickly I didn't even need to deploy my Sleep spell. Voss ended up being the big hero, striding into the midst of them and laying about with his spear and somehow getting through the swarm of goblins without receiving a single scratch. I was the only other uninjured person, but, happily, Raszil was on hand for magical healing care of the God of Secrets, and we returned to Rhymer's Cross with only a few scratches to go around- although, once more, Yua seemed to get by with lighter injuries than it initially appeared.

Oddly, it was only goblins this time, no worgs. I suppose the worgs could have slinked off in the dark while the goblins did all the fighting, but if that was the case, why abandon their allies? If they didn't, why were the goblins patrolling without? It's possible we simply had killed all the worgs, as we had passed the bottom threshold of the potential number of worgs we were facing... but for some reason, I was uneasy about assuming that.

On our way back, after seeing a sixty-something year old woman go toe to toe with goblins armed with nothing but a hatchet for the second night in a row, I sidled up to Moruca as we rode. “Where did you learn to fight like that?” I asked, nodding at the axe hanging from her belt, “I thought you were going to be more of a guide, but you're eager to get right in the thick of it.”

“My old Timothy was a hunter, used to bring down game and we'd dry venison, harem and boar for me to sell at market,” she replied after a moment's thought, “Didn't like the idea of me being at the homestead, defenseless, while he would tail game for days, so he showed me a thing or two.”

I nodded. It made sense, she would have class levels but not enough xp to have levelled much, which matched her combat performance, as far as I could tell. “Why so eager, though?” I pressed, “It seems unusual for....”

“Mister Theodore,” she said somewhat angrily, cutting me off and eyeing me sideways, “Those goblins are not mere bogeymen scaring people out of their homes, they are a serious problem. I had a son, a granddaughter, and a mighty fine young lady who called me her goodmother. Had.”

That told me everything I needed to know. “I'm sorry for your loss,” I replied, “I can't bring them back, but we'll at least make them pay for it.” Well, partly true- if we somehow earned enough experience to get Raszil to level 14 and he possessed 18 Wisdom we could, but that's not something you tell a grieving person.

“That's all I ask.”

When we returned to Rhymer's Cross that day, people for the most part still seemed rather dour, though the guards seemed happy to see us. Estrid was her usual overly-serious self, though she actually said “Thank you” this time.

Our third sorties took us northeast, leaving, for the first time, from the northern gate of Rhymer's Cross. The land here was sparser, and given over largely to grazing land for cattle. The amount of food to be scavenged was far less, but Moruca was able to track down an errant cow and a pair of lost sheep that had somehow managed to avoid getting poached by goblins. Which was something, at least. 

That night, for our ambush, we simply found a mouldy old haystack left out in the field, and set it ablaze, feeding it would a few logs before stilling back and waiting for our bait to be taken. We didn't have to wait long, but the group of goblins we attracted was small- a mere seven of them, which we dispatched with no wounds or casualties on our side. And again, there were no worgs, and with w sinking feeling I realized that the goblins were probably catching wise to our tactics.

When we arrived back at Rhymer's Cross this time, it wasn't just Estrid and the guards there to greet us. A massive, pot-bellied man with heavily muscled armed, wearing a apron, pants, and little else was there. He singled me out with a frown, looking me up and down. “Are you lot the reason I finally have to work, again?” he growled.

“Uh, maybe?” I replied, unsure of myself. “I'm Theodore, and this is Sir Voss, Lady Calliope, Yua, and you may already know Raszil and Moruca.” I dismounted to face him while the others busied themselves with dropping off our meager delivery.

The man offers one massive hand for me to shake, and I noticed now that his clothes weren't necessarily white- they were coated in flour. “Big Dap Baker's the name, Daprin Baker to my mother,” he explained, as he put in a good effort to shake my arm off, “Now that we have flour, that means bread, and bread means my daughters and I are out of the house before dawn every morning to stoke the ovens and knead the dough.”

“Right...” I said, listening but not really seeing what he was getting at.

“Well, seems to me that you lot have the opposite sleeping schedule, and you're heading out every night to fight the good fight,” he said with a nod of approval, “How about you and yours bed down at my house, let my wife dote on you a little, and get a decent bit of sleep while I'm at work? As long as you treat my home with respect, and keep bringing in the flour, I won't mind one bit.”

Calliope came up beside me, and gave me a shy little smile as she took my hand. I gave her a smile back, and nodded. “That sounds wonderful, Mister Dap. Thank you, we'll be happy to take you up on your offer.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5644/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (35), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 703 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 2 Ranger), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	17. Isekai Life & Baker House

Big Dap must be a pretty high level baker, or the only baker in town or something, because his house was pretty sizable. Not massive by any stretch, but it was closer in size to a modern house than some of the shacks I've seen people call home in this world. Separate kitchen and dining room, a pleasant little sitting room, and a second floor with what seemed like three bedrooms.

The man himself only stayed long enough to introduce us to his wife- an attractive, buxom redhead in her forties by the name of Ina. While I didn't mind looking, I silently resolved to keep an eye on Voss and Raszil while we were here. The foul-mouthed gnome might be more trouble overall, but I could see Voss saying or doing something to insult our hosts just because he winds up thinking with his dick.

And Raszil was staying with us. Moruca still had a room somewhere in town, and begged off to return to it, but Raszil ended up deciding that a proper bed in the baker's residence sounded better than returning to his dockhouse, moonshine or no moonshine.

Before we were even shown to our rooms, Ina sat us down at her table and made sure we had a proper hot meal. Fresh fruit, fresh bread (albeit without anything to spread on it), pine tea, and most importantly, not a drop of plain porridge to be found. It was amazing to me how such simple things could become heavenly after awhile.

What was equally delightful was just the opportunity to simply relax. We weren't sleeping in cells or on the ground while on the run. It felt like forever since the last time Calliope, Voss, and I were able to just... rest. I couldn't really speak for Yua, because for all I know the little time we spent on the road together was the temporary blip of relative calm for her.

I was musing quietly oven my tea when Voss gave me a nudge with his elbow. I looked over only to see Ina smiling expectantly at me.

“Uh... pardon?” I asked tentatively.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to distract you,” Ina replied politely, “I asked how long you all have been adventuring together, and this young man said that you would be the best person to ask.”

“Ah, right,” I said, thoughtfully. I could see why Voss tossed the question to me. Before, when we were asked about this sort of thing on the road, we would say that Katriana was my sister and Ashryn was my fiancee, but if I wanted some alone time with Calliope it would be best not to mention other fiancees. It was probably best to keep things as simple as possible. “Calliope, my fiancee, and Voss here met up with me in Tresens, and we had some adventures there. Then, we travelled all the way out here, to Pendleton. We picked up Yua in Osgoode Gate, where we rescued her from a menagerie that enslaved her. Raszil we only met a few days ago, after arriving here.”

“Oh!” she replied, turned to Calliope. “You two are to be married? When? After your journey?”

Calliope cleared her throat uncomfortably. “Sometime later,” she said simply, “Theodore has something he needs to accomplish first.”

That something happened to be “marry Ashryn”, of course, but Calliope wisely didn't illuminate further.

Instead, she stood. “Would it be possible to have a bath?” she asked politely, “If it's too much trouble, don't trouble yourself, I've been able to wash in the rivers from time to time, but a hot soak would be nice.”

Ina stood as well, nodding. “Of course, of course. Dap set the tinder and filled the basin before he left to fetch you, I'll just have to light it. Shouldn't take more than a nonce to heat up.”

The two ladies left, leaving only us men- and Yua- sitting at the table. 

Raszil swallowed the bit of bread he was chewing, and cast an aside glance at me. “Not comfortable answering questions, are you? Nor her, apparently.”

“She was prying into our romantic life,” I said, defensive, “Calliope is a bit of a private girl, and I certainly didn't want to share the details of our relationship.”

“I mean regarding your sister,” he replied, offhandedly, and he seized a knife and sliced off another hunk of fresh, warm bread, “You skipped over her entirely.”

I hadn't realized that Voss or Calliope had mentioned Katriana to the gnomish cleric. “I didn't want to make things more complicated than they already are,” I replied with a shrug, “I'm tired, and having to explain about Katriana would mean also having to explain about the other half of the party, and Katriana's pregnancy, and everything. Just thinking about it makes me exhausted.”

Raszil nodded, carefully tearing off the crust of his new slice. “Out of curiosity,” he asked before helping himself to a bite, “What is Calliope's family name? I don't think you've fully introduced us.”

“Uh, Blevins, I think,” Voss replied, reaching over to help himself to more grapes.

“Brevins,” I corrected, “With an 'R'.”

“Brevins, right.”

Raszil frowned. “The Brevins of...?”

It was my turn to frown. She didn't often speak of her hometown. “I'm not sure, to be honest,” I replied, “She said she was born to a farming family.”

“Ah, I see,” Raszil replied with a shrug, “Sorry if I was prying myself, but she seemed to carry herself a certain way, I figured she was from some noble family somewhere.”

Voss barked a laugh. “No, Calliope's just kind of like that, I guess because she got into magic school on her own merits.”

Raszil grinned in response. “Yes, I think I know the type.”

Soon enough, I was stuffed. In my previous life, I'd be horrified at the amount of plain white bread I just stuffed into my body, but of course, I could rely on my “heaven” to keep me from getting too fat. When Ina returned to the dinner table, I excused myself to go get my own bath, ordering Yua to come along as I did so. 

The bath house was behind the main building, a small shed with a stone tub above a large wood stove. It appeared that the building was shared by a few of the houses on the same block, but despite that the people seemed to take their shared property seriously, and it was very clean and in good repair. As I headed over, I passed a flushed pink and squeaky clean Calliope, who only gave me a shy smile before heading back inside.

My bath was pleasant enough- more of a rinse, really, as soap was one of the things in short supply due to the siege-like condition of the town. Still, I was grateful to Ina and Dap for their generosity and hard work. Not that they didn't benefit from our scavenging, but we were willing to do that even without borrowing anyone's house. 

Yua had obediently stood in a guard position outside the bath house, and stared at me, with a look of shock, when I ordered her to go wash herself. Still, she did so, while I poked at the hot coals in the stove with a stick.

Once Yua was done (and we traded off with Voss), I had to take her to get bedded down. She's stayed with us at inns and camping before, but this was her first time as a house guest in our culture, so I intended to make sure she was taken care of first. Ina directed us to rooms- Yua got the youngest daughter's room, while I was directed to the master bedroom. I escorted Yua to where she needed to be, and gave her a brief goodnight- the dragon girl seemed a little distressed at being left alone in what was clearly a stranger's home, but I knew she'd be able to figure things out from here.

I was feeling pretty exhausted after all that. The breakfast and bath were nice, but I had been awake since mid-afternoon the previous day. It was time for a rest.

I pushed into the bedroom. It was a fairly cozy space- a few cabinets, night stand, bed large enough for Dap's huge frame. 

What I didn't expect to find was Calliope, naked except for her choker, lying faceup on the bed, with her head oriented towards me. 

“Hello, Theodore,” She said with a small smile, I closed the door behind me.

“Uh, hi,” I replied.

“We have a bed now.”

“Yes, I noticed. And privacy.”

I stripped off my robe, fatigue washing away with my increased arousal. My body, it seemed, was thirstier than it was tired.

As I was about to join her on the bed, Calliope put a hand on my chest. “Wait, no, this isn't right.”

I was confused. “What's not right?”

“I don't want to leave these nice people with messy sheets, after they were nice enough to open their home to us,” she said as she climbed out of bed, looking about. Realizing that the room was too cramped for much else, she faced the door, gripped the door frame, and bent over. “It'll have to be like this, sorry,” she said, blushing furiously, “I'd love to do more... you know... but it's been so long, and there isn't a lot of room.”

I got up and stood behind her, hardening cock in hand. “I understand,” I replied softly, “This is fine, soon enough we should be able to enjoy ourselves in peace.”

She swallowed, hard, and nodded, reaching between her legs to pull her labia apart for me. “Please, then....”

I placed my cock at her entrance, and took her gently by the hips. She was wet enough that I penetrated easily, gliding in with a great sigh of satisfaction from both of us.

“Oh, I missed this so much...” Calliope moaned as I began thrusting into her.

We struggled to keep our noise- both our moaning and the creaking of the wall as Calliope put her weight against it- under control. We were still in a small house, after all, with no common room of deafening conversation or the stone walls of a castle to dampen our sounds. 

For all that our lovemaking was simple- not being able to use the bed dictated that- and that we couldn't make noise, those factors seemed to act like a crucible and make everything more intense.

Calliope was very wet, the walls of her pussy accepting me easily and clinging to my shaft gently while I pistoned my cock into her. Eventually, I lost myself completely, driving my cock into poor Calliope while she could do nothing more than take it.

We came at once, Calliope struggling not to make any noise through gritted teeth while I sank my cock deep into her and pulsed out stream after stream of semen into her.

After that we collapsed, leaning on the door and gasping for breath, clinging to one another.

“Y-you idiot,” Calliope said softly, “I-I wanted you to finish in my mouth or something... we just talked about why I shouldn't get pregnant....”

“I'm sorry,” I replied, panting, “But it's not like you were complaining....”

She kissed me gently on the forehead, and shook her head.

“Whatever will be, will be, I guess... let's get some rest, my love.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5644/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (35), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 703 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 2 Ranger), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	18. Isekai Life & Party Problems

I awake to the sensation of lips and a warm moistness on my member. Exhaustion suffuses every fibre of my being, and I want nothing more than to just roll over and go back to sleep, but I can tell from the position of the sunlight through the room's only window that it's some hours later- and, of course, nobody bothered to tell my cock how tired I was.

Calliope knelt over me, head bobbing on my rod, her short brown hair swaying with her every movement. I ran a hand through her hair, enjoying the sensation as she eagerly pleasured my cock. Her hair felt soft and light as cotton, and just the act of brushing a hand through it caused her to moan pleasantly.

“I'm glad you're finally awake,” she said releasing me so she could speak while stroking my cock, “I know we both need to memorize new spells, but do you think you have it in you for something quick?”

I sighed heavily, mocking. “Well, I guess if my fiancee needs to be satisfied, I must....”

This time, at Calliope's suggestion, I sat on the ground, with my back to a cabinet, while she straddled me. It was a little uncomfortable, though it was difficult to focus on that when Calliope slid my cock inside her and settled her weight carefully onto me.

“Mmm,” she sighed, voicing her pleasure, “I wonder what Ashryn and Katriana are doing right now....”

“Not this, I hope.”

“Oh, there's no danger of that.. ah!”

Calliope went quiet, riding up and down on my cock, the room filling with the low, wet sound of our slow, deep lovemaking. It felt heavenly, as Calliope's moist, warm pussy engulfed my cock over and over, and I was just losing myself in the sensation, when...

Skrrrt!

Suddenly, the cabinet lurched backwards, it's feet squeaking, hard, on the bare hardwood floor. Calliope and I immediately stiffened, before she exploded in nervous giggles and I could feel a flush creeping into my face.

“Fuck...” I swore, hoping that the weight of the thing didn't end up up gouging the floor.

Calliope firmly turned my head back to face her. She was blushing deeply. “W-well... at least, if everyone already knows... y-you could fuck me like you mean it....” 

Who could possibly refuse that kind of plea?

I ended up pinning her down on the floor, and thrusting inside her with all the strength I could muster. We both ended up moaning loudly, and making the floor squeak, but I was able to throw my cares away and just focus on the simple animal act of fucking my fiancee. 

When we climaxed, it felt as though I was spurting forever. I was shooting off semen inside Calliope even after most of my orgasm had subsided. It felt good to really empty myself like that.

Again, Calliope was mad. She slapped my chest, and pushed me off of her. “I told you we shouldn't finish like that, and you did it again! Urgh, don't be so stupid next time....”

But, despite her attitude, she seemed satisfied, radiant with a bit of a blush on her face. 

We didn't have a ton of time to study our spellbooks at that point (Calliope's affinity for sex before and after sleep was turning out to be somewhat self-defeating) but I didn't need more than twenty minutes to load back up on Burning Hands, and Calliope didn't need much more than that. Thankfully, the floor was fine, and I didn't need to waste a spell slot on Mending.

Immediately when we came downstairs, Ina gave me a judgmental, cold stare, but didn't say anything else. I felt the heat rising in my neck. I guess premarital sex was frowned on in these parts. I glanced back at Calliope, who shrugged. “We've nothing to hide,” she said simply, “And if you're going to be breaking the bounds of common propriety as much as you plan to, you're going to have to get used to some odd looks and awkward silences.”

“Fair enough,” I muttered, though I was a little uneasy about drawing that level of disapproval from our host. Hopefully, she was only annoyed, thinking that we messed up her sheets or had sex in the bed.

Raszil gave us a sly grin as we joined his and Voss at the kitchen table. Voss was completely unfazed, having been subject to my nocturnal activities, well, for all of the last few months.

Being the bro that he was, Voss immediately disarmed any lewd comments by diving right in. “I was thinking about what Moruca said about that fortress awhile back,” he said, passing a basket of fresh buns to Calliope as she got comfortable, “We could follow the shore of the island, ambush the goblins at their landing site.”

Calliope helped herself and passed the basket to me. “But if the goblins aren't coming here by boat, we could end up wasting a day and not getting any more food for the town,” she replied, “We've finally begun earlier the trust of the people here, and you want to toss that away so quickly?”

Voss frowned, and looked like he was about to snap back, when I raised a warding hand. “We can do both. We're due to try looking to the southwest anyway, and if we come upon the river, we can keep an eye out for the goblin landing area. Considering how many goblins and wargs we've seen, it would have to be a pretty obvious site. I don't think they're clever enough to hide that kind of thing.”

Voss shrugged and sighed, “Yeah, I guess. I just think it'd be better to find their hideout and get rid of them all before long.”

It was Raszil's turn to interject. “Even if you could do that today, these people won't believe you until you earn their trust anyway,” he replied, “It's always wiser to distrust a stranger, even when they claim to have your best interests at heart.”

“Still, we don't have an infinite amount of time,” I added, to sooth Voss's ego a little, “So I think we should start stepping up our efforts to find the goblin hideout. Maybe in a day or two we can start looking into that list of locations Moruca mentioned.”

Voss was still frowning, but he wasn't arguing back. And I understood perfectly where he was coming from. The plan that we were limited to wasn't great, and whittling away the goblins at the rate we were going was going to take a long time. There were somewhere in the neighborhood of one hundred fifty and two hundred goblin warriors left- the fact that they were apparently all out of worgs aside, there was still a lot of fighting to do.

“Where's Yua?” I asked, suddenly realizing she was absent. The dragon-girl was normally quiet, but she didn't avoid group meals entirely.

Voss shrugged. “She's behind the house, splitting firewood,” he informed me, “Seems upset about something. When I tried to get her to come eat, she gave me a look like she was sizing up my head for the axe, so I left her alone.”

I frowned. “Alright, I'll talk to her, then we should get going.”

I pushed back from the table and went through the kitchen to the back door. The sound of wood splintering became clearer once I was in a room and shared a wall with the back yard. I opened the rear door and stepped outside in time to see Yua miss a swing and just barely dodge planting the wood axe in her shin. Yua stared at me with wide open eyes for a moment, dropping the axe, before seeming to snap out of it. It all happened so fast, I almost missed watching the whole thing unfold.

“Excuse me,” was all she said at first, dropping to get knees to retrieve the wood axe.

I was bewildered. “Uh, is everything okay?” I asked, tentatively.

Yua nodded, though she seemed glum and tried to avoid my gaze. She set the axe on top of the wood pile, and reached over to where her greatsword was leaning against a wall. She bared a couple inches of the black alchemical steel, as if to check that the blade was still there, before sheathing it. Without looking at me, she said, “I am shamed.”

“Shamed?” I asked, “Shamed how?”

“I cannot say.”

I immediately thought, can you not say because you don't want to tell or can you not say because you don't know? But I hesitated. That seemed like a subtlety of language that I shouldn't possess yet.

“Come, then,” I replied, “Time to go.”

As we prepared to head out on the night's adventuring, I tried to think what Yua could have done that would have caused her shame, but kept coming up blank. Most of what Yua was, right down to her species, was a mystery to me still. For her part, once we got going Yua seemed focused and businesslike, deepening my utter bafflement.

Our journey out was the same as usual. We met Moruca near the town gates, and I explained that today we were headed southwest, maybe close to the river, and she lead us on our way. We stopped here and there to harvest wild tubers or horseradish, stopping at this farm or that to gather up things like flour, salted meat, and so on. 

We hunkered down in an abandoned farmhouse just before dark to have our repast of cold porridge and dried fruit, which went down a little bit easier after a day of hot, fresh food. We has selected out ambush site- a gully not far away that was overlooked by an ancient shed on the same acre as the farmhouse. The shed was in a bad state, but the missing slats in the construction would give us some cover as we shot down into the gully. 

We made our fake camp fire as usual, and waited. As luck would have it, we didn't have to wait long- very soon the familiar blank silhouettes of investigating goblins stood out in front of the flames, making me believe that what Voss had surmised- that their landing area was in the area.

We began our ambush, raining down ranged fire onto the few silhouettes we could make out. Calliope unleashed her magic missile while the rest of us used more mundane projectiles- except Yua, of course, who was on guard outside our shed.

The battle was over quickly. Most of the goblins in this group were dead before they realized what was going on, and the patrol collapsed into confusion without being able to mount a proper counterattack. It was simple, like most of the other ambushes had been.

We were cleaning up the battlefield- retrieving still-usable arrows, stacking the goblin bodies on a pyre, the usual- when Moruca stood stock-still for a moment, as if someone had replaced her spine with a metal rod.

“What's going on?” I said, heading over to her. When I was within her reach, she hurriedly clamped a gnarled hand over my mouth.

“Listen,” she hissed.

On the wind came the baying of wolves in the distance. 

Then, a second pack answered, much closer.

It's the smell, I abruptly realized, looking over at our fake-campfire-pyre. That's why there haven't been any worgs. They've been trying to hunt us and counter-ambush us.

“They're coming,” she said, “Dozens of them.”

“The farmhouse,” I replied, “It's our only chance. Run!”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (5683/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Wall of Fog, Burning Hands, Burning Hands  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (28), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 703 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 2 Ranger), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	19. Isekai Life & Critical Error

We fled.

I had stayed at the shed long enough to fish a handful of dried peas from a pocket in my robe and fling them into the air, gesturing in arcane mudra and chanting the words to Breath of the Sea Dragon, better known to myself as “Wall of Fog”. Because I was third level, I had some wiggle room to work with regarding the size of my “wall”, so I settled on blanketed the site of the actual ambush a thick, twenty by twenty by ten cubic foot haze. Hopefully that would buy us some time by obscuring the direction of our attack.

When my spell was complete, Yua seized me by the wrist and took off after everyone else. It wasn't long before my throat started to burn and my breath wheezed in my throat. That 8 Constitution was really making itself known in this situation. 

If this were certain other versions of D&D, I'd be able to look forward to address that specific lack on my next level up, but not here. Alas.

Calliope was the first to arrive at the house, followed by Voss, only slightly weighed down by his heavy armour. I barely had any time to register who arrived next- Raszil, I think- when a black corona started to grow around my vision. I could hear my heart pound, and my chest felt tight. The blackness was about to close in when I felt a hand gently stop me. As I stood, wheezing with exertion, arms folded around me, and I was carried.

Not was how I re-entered the farm house- in a bridal carry, hoisted by Yua.

Yua set me down, and while I gasped on the floor like a fish, I could hear the others talking.

“Is he hurt?”

“No, he's sickly, you know that. A run like that would take everything out of him.”

“I hate to interrupt, but now that we're here, what the hell are we doing?”

I coughed, and flopped onto my side, spitting up a clump of bloody phlegm. “B-barricade the d-door,” I wheezed, “A-archers on the windows.”

I heard Yua say... something I couldn't make out, in her native tongue. Then, Voss giving orders- “We need to barricade everything! They can't get in here!” Then a growl, a loud slam, and Voss shouting “Okay, okay! What should we do, then?”

The group around me bustled while I slowly recovered. It didn't take that long for me to get back to full awareness- I was only out of breath, if catastrophically so. My legs and chest still fiercely ached, but at least I could stand and see what was going on.

Voss and Yua were hauling furniture in front of the door, which I could see, over the debris, was already barred shut. Moruca was stoking a fire in the farmhouse's firepit, while Raszil seemed to be gathering up anything remotely useful- kitchen knives, fireplace pokers, and arranging them for easy access on the dinner table.

The farm house was a small affair- a single-storey dwelling with a thatched roof, a pair of bedrooms, and a common room built around the hearth. This was all laid out in a box, with the two bedrooms next to each other- meaning that to have someone playing lookout to that side of the building meant they'd be fighting from one of the cramped bedrooms. 

I grabbed Raszil by the wrist as he finished a trip, and nodded towards the bedrooms. “Can you keep an eye out one of those rooms, and still throw one of your hammers?”

In response, he gave me a look like I was stupid. “I need space to spin them, and besides, I only have one left. You can't do it with your darts?”

“Too little range, I can't throw that far,” I said, biting my lip, “This is going to be a tough one.”

“Yeah, I'm beginning to regret that conversation we had a few days ago. You're beginning to remind me why 'May you live in interesting times' is a curse.”

I didn't reply instead walking over to Voss on legs that felt as though they were made of rubber. “We need to barricade the doors, and leave the windows open....” was as far as I got.

“Yeah, Yua damn near tore my head off over that,” he replied, as he tossed a wicker rocking chair onto the stack of furniture at the door, for all the good that would do, “I can understand wanting to shoot out at them, that makes sense, but what if they jump through the windows, though?”

“We'll have them trapped, then,” I said, looking around the room, “Close quarters like this, those big worgs will hardly be able to turn around.”

“I hope you're right.”

“Well, how about this, then?” I said, “The roof here is thatch, and if they decide to come at us with torches, we'll need to pick them off as they approach.”

Voss gave me an incredulous look. “Worgs with torches.”

“Well, more like goblins with torches riding worgs, but hey, stranger things have happened to us.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Our discussion was cut short the sounds of howling, incredibly close. Together, rushed to one of the windows and looking out into the night.

The light from the fireplace spoiled our night vision, but with the flame flickering behind us, we could see the light reflecting off of eyes- dozens of them, glimmering in the dark like dewdrops in the morning sun.

Voss cursed. “We're fucked, look at how many there are.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “Magic arrows. Aim for the worgs.”

“Right.”

Moruca already had her bow at the ready, at the other window facing the oncoming worg horde. I went to give her some words of encouragement, but she cut me off before I could say anything. “Watch the back, you idiot. I don't want to get surprised.”

Chastened, I hung back, peeking out a window at the inky blackness of night. Yua, Calliope, Raszil... most of us were useless for now.

With 3d8 hit points each, and each arrow only dealing 1d8 damage, we didn't have nearly enough arrows- even counting the magical ones- to deal with all the worgs. I had seen at least a dozen pairs of eyes from the window before, and there could be more worgs behind them, so there wasn't a clear idea of the enemy numbers.

Moruca and Voss began shooting, accompanied by a bunch of cursing. “I can't hardly see them!” Voss complained as he knocked a fresh arrow. 

It was on Moruca's fourth that we finally heard an answering yelp from outside. “Got 'em,” she hissed with satisfaction. Voss must have started hitting home as well, because he stopped talking and seemed more focused. I really hoped that he was putting those magical arrows to good use.

Eventually, Moruca yelled back, “They're circling the house!” Calliope, eager as ever, sprang into action, going to one of the windows. I move into position next to her, thinking. She normally had her Shield spell ready, and she used a Magic Missile against the goblins earlier. Hopefully she had Burning Hands as her third spell- though I wouldn't say no to a second Magic Missile.

I saw a grey blur streak by and started tossing darts, hoping to hit something. There were no lack of targets, but the night made it impossible to get an idea of their numbers. There were no torches- just inky darkness and worgs circling the house, not even moving forward.

Waiting for us to run out of ammunition....

Suddenly, there was the sound of cracking wood, and a huge, snarling beast was straining to get into the farmhouse through one of the remaining, unmanned windows. Yua, who was readied in the centre of the room, strode forward and thrust awkwardly with her greatsword. The worg yelped, and drove back, out of the window... but the frame was now visibly cracked.

“Shit, I'm out!” Voss yelled, but everythinig was happening so fast that it barely registered.

There was the sound of shattering wood, and I turned to look into the bedroom to see one of the worgs fully smashing through the window and clawing it's way over the bed. I saw the goblin crawling in behind him, so I ran forward, and without thinking, cast the Sigil of the Burning Hand.

I heard the worg howl in pain, and realized by mistake as the bedding ignited. I was staring- how could I forget that the area we were fighting in was flammable!- as Yua pulled me away so she could engage with the now-burning worg.

“What the hell are you thinking?” Calliope yelled at me, pulling me away from the burning end of the house.

I couldn't say, but I knew exactly what I was thinking- Burning Hands had the best damage potential and area of effect of all the level one attack spells. Considerations of terrain or safety was the furthest thing from my mind. But I couldn't tell her that, of course.

“We've got to get out of here,” I told her.

Yua finished off the worg, and as soon as she was inside, I slammed that bedroom door shut, hoping it would slow the spread of smoke. “We've got to get out of here!” I yelled, louder, in the direction of our two archers.

Moruca didn't respon, but Voss, his quiver almost empty, stood and looked around, and really took in the situation. The destroyed window, Yua's bloody sword, and the shapes moving in the darkness. He grabbed up his spear and came over to me. “What's the plan?”

You're asking me? I wanted to ask, but I tried to focus. “This house is burning. We need to get to the barn.”

Calliope frowned at me. “You almost passed out running here from the riverside.”

“Yes, I know,” I replied, “That's why you have to abandon me if I get surrounded.”

“Fuck off,” Voss swore, stamping his feet, “You can't just give that kind of order!”

Calliope scowled. “Forget that,” she spat, “I'll get Moruca, you get ready to move.”

The worgs were backing off, waiting. They could see the flames. They just had to wait. We'd get smoked out sooner or later. The upside of this was that Voss could slip out a window unmolested. But the second his heels hit earth the worgs were on him. Well, worg riders, I suppose I should say- there were goblins armed with crude spears riding on them.

Voss was able to swing his spear wide, holding the worgs off while we slid out of the burning house one by one. Yua was second, and the danger of what we were trying to accomplish because immediately obvious as a worg darted in to savage her, badly, as soon as she was clear of the window.  
She fought back as best she could, but it was becoming obvious that this run to the barn was the next thing to suicide.

Calliope helped Raszil over the sill next, so he could go help her, rushing over to lay on hands when she desperately fought back.

I slipped out next, landing on the ground in an inelegant pile. I struggled to get out of the way as Calliope began to climb out herself, and got shakily to my. Huge, beastlike forms swarmed in the night.

And now I was properly free to spray some fire around.

I cast the sigil, driving my hands forward as flame sprayed from them, trying to ward them off, set them on fire, anything I could do to help my allies. At least one went down because of my flames. I could see at the edges of my vision, flashes of light indicating that Calliope and possibly Raszil were applying spells of their own.

Fur filled my vision and I felt a deep sharp pain in my side as a worg lunged forward and sank filthy teeth deep into my abdomen. I could only grunt in response. I wasn't dying- not yet, at least- but it was a pretty savage wound regardless. And I was completely out of spells. There was nothing to be done.

My head lolled back as the beast started to shake me, and thought that the black shape moving in front of the stars was the life going out of my eyes.

Instead, there was a cry, not quite eagle and not quite lion, as a griffon came out of the darkness and landed amongst the seething worgs.

The attention of the worgs shifted immediately, as the griffon launched into them, biting and slashing. Two humanoid figures, clad in furs and bearing bows, leapt off the griffon's back and joined in the fighting. The worg that had bit me let go, and I went sprawling into the churned up dirt and ash of our battlefield.

I saw a figure wrapped in a sky-blue robe collapse to the ground not far from me, and my mouth went dry with anxiety. “Calliope,” I called, my voice a harsh, unrecognizable croak. Shuddering from the pain, I dragged myself over to where she was, and pulled her towards me.

She did not react when I touched her body, and fear surged through me. I sought her face, hoping to see her nostrils flare, her eyes blink, anything to deny the growing dread surging up inside me.

I turned her head towards me. Her eyes frozen and fixed, her mouth opened in an unending scream, and six inches of broken goblin spear protruding from her throat.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (6170/10000)  
Hit Points: 3/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): none  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (28), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 703 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Calliope (Level 2 Invoker, fiancee), Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	20. Isekai Life & Blood Promise

I gently brushed Calliope's hair away from her face, as her head rested on my lap. Thanks to Yua, the blade that had penetrated her throat was gone, though the wound was still an ugly, puckered line where there should be the smooth skin of her neck. Her skin was marvellously soft, and with her mouth and eyes closed, her face seemed more peaceful. I wondered, briefly, where her soul was residing, and whether she was comfortable there.

When the griffon appeared and distracted the worgs, Voss, Moruca and Yua were able to rally and fight back. Confronted with a larger, more powerful predator and my rallying allies, the nerve of the worgs (or goblins? It was hard to tell who was in charge between the predatory, massive mount and the cunning yet weak rider) finally broke and they fled.

The house has burned down to ashes and foundation, with nothing left of what had once been a family's home. The glowing coals and a few hastily-constructed torches gave off what little light we had, although the horizon was already glowing with the promise of dawn. 

Not for the first time, my mind seemed split in two.

On one hand, my old mind was telling me it was alright. Calliope was an invoker, so her constitution was supposed to be high- high enough that she wasn't likely to fail her resurrection roll, high enough that losing a point of constitution to being resurrected shouldn't be an issue. Even if someone couldn't be found to cast Raise Dead in time, we could cremate her and save her ashes for a Resurrection later. It was simple, we just had to get by without an extra caster for awhile.

The other half of my mind was in turmoil. Calliope, my friend since magic school, my lover these past few months, was dead. Worse, it was because of a tragic mistake that I made in the heat of the moment. I was oh-so-confident that I had picked the best spells, made the best tactical decisions, and then in the moment when I had almost no other option, I failed the party. And poor Calliope, who just days ago was expressing her angst over our relationship, paid the price.

The mean between these two warring states of mind was silent, sullen depression. I had no clear idea of how much time had passed, but I couldn't pull myself away from Calliope's body.

Yua was kneeling off to one side, her greatsword sitting in front of her, and her head inclined- in shame or in prayer, I couldn't say. Voss was standing nearby, looking visibly upset. He had cried some earlier- I couldn't make out the fine details of his face, but I thought I heard him sobbing- but occasionally he would sidle over and give me a comforting pat on the back.

Moruca had vanished early on, saying she would gather spent arrows and count the dead. And Raszil... was dealing with our new guests.

The two people who had arrived on their griffon were clad all in black- black feathered cloaks, black clothing, black boots, except for their shining elven chain mail, which gleamed silver even in the dim light of the coals. They were elves, a slender, smaller one and a taller, broad-shouldered man. I could hear the low sounds of their discussion with the gnomish cleric, and although I couldn't make out the words, it had the trilling, singsong quality of elvish. 

As for the griffon itself, it was... somewhere, noisy snacking on some worgs in the dark.

Suddenly, a light grew stronger in the corner of my eye. “Well, it was a hell of a battle,” I heard Moruca's voice say, “Sixteen dead worgs, almost as many goblins. They won't be trying this again any time soon, that I promise you.”

A major victory, all things considered. The tribe couldn't have much in the way of worgs, cavalry or otherwise, left. But I didn't feel any joy or pride from this input. It was just another fact, as cold and dead as-

I bit my lip to prevent myself from sobbing, hard enough to taste blood.

“Only managed to find one of those special arrows of yours. Here, Voss, you gave 'em hell.”

“Thanks, Moruca.”

“S'nothing.”

Then, I felt a light hand squeeze my shoulder, and the old woman's voice again. “We're still in enemy territory, lad. You've had your moment, but we're going to need you back soon.”

“Right,” I replied, numbly.

“It ain't never going to stop being sad, son, but sooner or later it'll stop hurting so bad. But right now, the living need you.”

I nodded, and gently lifted Calliope's head off my lap so I could rise. Yua rose with me, reaching out to steady me with a hand when I stumbled on my numb legs. Despite her wounds, she was much more steady on her feet than I.

With an effort, I pushed away that half of my mind- the one in mourning. Having my thoughts and feeling divided like this had some advantages, it seemed. I could seal up that grief and deal with it later, with an ease that I never had in life.

I looked towards the two elven warriors. “What's their story, anyway?”

“I don't know, Raszil has been the one talking with them this whole time,” Voss replied, “But, look at this.”

He handed me an arrow from the bundle that Moruca had gathered for him. It was carved from pale, bone-white wood, and fletched with black feathers.

I nodded and handed the arrow back.

As a group, we marched over to where the gnome and elves were standing. Their conversation cut off as we approached. I must have seemed a little intense, because Raszil cleared his throat nervously. “Theodore, Voss, everyone, this here is Haseth and Seran. I think they've got something to say that you might be interested in hearing.”

The two elves were both men. Despite their drastically different body types- one was a typical short, slender pretty boy elf, while the broad-shouldered man had a hard, stoic face, and a nasty scar that ran across his left eye, leaving it milky and sightless. They both had black hair- which oddly still had some of the shimmery quality of Ashryn's- in short military cuts, and dark eyes.

The tall one stepped forward and offered his hand. “I am Haseth, captain of the Ravenwatch,” he said in a crisp, military tone that wouldn't be out of place on a drill sergeant. When I clasped his hand, it was dry and rough, like shaking hands with a stone. 

“Theodore,” I said simply, meeting his gaze. I had gotten used to dealing with his type when we were slouching around the palace in Tresens. “How long have you been following us?”

Haseth and Seran exchanged glances. “We weren't following you, although we have been noting your presence,” Haseth replied, “We seemed to have similar goals, and while we do not often make our presence known to outsiders, we are not heartless. When we noted your trouble, guiding you to a place of refuge seemed prudent.” 

“What do you mean, similar goals?” Voss asked in return.

Haseth narrowed his eyes a little bit giving Voss a glare that could cut glass. “Pardon me, but it is customary among our people to introduce ourselves before speaking.”

Voss straightened up, crossing his arms. “I am Sir Voss Durand, a knight in service to House Esche, and I'll thank you not to lecture me about politeness. We've been scrambling all over the countryside trying to feed a city full of people under siege, and my lord's lady is dead, and you say that we have similar goals but couldn't be arsed to do more than give us a breadcrumb trail when we were being hunted by goblins and worgs. So, I ask you again, what similar goals are you speaking of?”

The tension between the two was palpable. I could have facepalmed. Voss just spilled the beans not only to these two complete strangers, but in front of Moruca and Raszil, too. 

Haseth turned back to me. “We are also in the area hunting the goblin menace. We have reason to believe that these creatures have taken something of great value to our king, and have sworn to not rest until the goblins have been defeated and our... our goals achieved. Improving the situation for the humans living here on the frontier is a secondary goal to us.”

The stumble stood out to me, but there were more pressing matters at hand. “Alright. Because this is the second time you've seemingly gone out of your way to help us, I'll believe you,” I said, “What did you have to say?”

Haseth nodded. “We both wish to see the goblins destroyed. Seran and I have managed to locate their headquarters, but we lack the numbers to mount an assault. You have a number of skilled individuals at your disposal, but lack the information necessary to make an attack. Let us work together.”

It was my turn to frown. “I'm sorry, Haseth, but right now our priority is to find a way to bring back Calliope, if we can. If we send for another priest, perhaps we have a chance of bringing her back in a timely manner....”

The boyish elf stepped forward, giving a salute. “If I may, I am Seran, Haseth's subordinate. Barador, our mount, was injured in the fighting, but is still highly mobile. If you agree to assist us in our mission, it would be my honour to take your companion back to the capital and have her seen to by the clergy in service to our king.”

My heart skipped a beat. Would it be possible? Did we chance into a solution, here?

It was Moruca who clued in first, giving the two elves a skeptical sidelong look. “You're from the Misty Kingdom.”

“Avenda Vereh Loica, if it pleases you, elder,” Haseth replied tersely.

In common, the Kingdom of the Throne of Mists. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

A chance to get Calliope back. And all we had to was help this one elf get something back from the goblins.

“Is it just the two of you?” I asked, “I don't mean to offend, but if we're not getting a net gain of manpower, fighting an entire goblin tribe, even after the losses we've inflicting, is going to be next to impossible.”

“For now, yes, it is just myself and Seran,” Haseth replied, “But there are several other members of the Ravenwatch that we believe were captured by the goblins. If we can free them, it would help even the numbers.”

I nodded. They would be starved and beaten, but elves were famous for making military use of fighter/mages. If they were holding on to a handful of spells, biding their time, that could make for one hell of a force multiplier.

“Alright,” I said, extending my hand to clasp Haseth's once more, “It's agreed, we help you on your mission, and you get Calliope the help she needs.”

“It is agreed. The lady will need a shroud to keep her safe on the journey.”

“Alright,” I said, turning my back on the elf. “Voss, there should be a blanket in Calliope's saddlebags.”

I walked back to where Calliope lay. Maybe it was my terse attitude, but this time nobody followed me back except Yua.

I again knelt by her body. Carefully, I undid her belt, and began sliding her spell component pouches off of it. When it came to her dagger sheath, I turned it over in my hands a moment, before finishing my work. I carefully removed all her personal belongings, and set them aside. I didn't suspect that these elves would steal them, but it seemed wrong, somehow, to send her off with all her personal possessions like that.

When Voss returned with her blanket, the three of us- Voss, Yua and I- reverently laid Calliope and wrapped her up tightly.

Seeing her wrapped up that struck a chord in me. I felt tears sting my eyes, and forced myself away.

As Seran brought around the griffon and prepared it to fly, I sought out Calliope's dagger. I wasn't difficult to find, on the blood-slicked ground where we had made out final stand. I wiped clean of blood and grime on my robes, and examined the weapon. It was a simple and well-made dagger, with a plain hilt of brass and what seemed to be antler. Unadorned and sturdy, befitting Calliope's personality.

I clutched the weapon to my chest. “I promise...” I whispered hoarsely. But, promised what? Hadn't the damage already been done, the mistake already been made?

“I promise... if you return to me... I'll do better. Be better. I'll make sure you know that's welcome, and a part of my family.”

I didn't even notice the blade biting into my palm, and the blood seeping out of my fist.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (6170/10000)  
Hit Points: 3/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): none  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (19), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 794 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	21. Isekai Life & Difficult Concepts

Seran securely strapped Calliope's body to the griffon's complicated saddle, while Haseth stood off to one side, organizing his kit. There was enough light now that we could see, and , Seran assured us, for Barador to take off with. The griffon's beak was still wet with blood and sticky with giblets of flesh from his post-battle meal. One taloned fore-paw was held almost daintily up in the air, where an unlucky hit from one of the worgs had bit through feathers, flesh and tendon. Despite the injury, Haseth and Seran swore that the beast could both fly and land safely. 

Raszil chose to save his healing powers for our party, as both he himself and Yua were badly injured in the battle.

“Um, so, this is going to be okay, right?” Voss asked nervously, “This big guy isn't going to get hungry and... need a snack, right?”

Seran laughed. “No, Sir Voss, you needn't worry. Barador is a good boy, he knows better. And besides, he's had his fill. It should take us about three days to return to Avenda Vereh Loica, and griffons are gorging predators- once their belly is full they can go a week between meals.”

This easy banter kind of pissed me off, so I went over to stand beside the griffon and seize one of the straps of its' harness. I looked Seran dead in the eye. “Take good care of Calliope,” I commanded, “If I return from completing your mission and find that something has happened to her....”

“I understand, Lord Theodore,” he said, taking up the reins, “Your lady is safe with me, rest assured. We may be a reclusive people, but you would not be the first travellers to have chanced upon assistance from the mist elves... although it is somewhat unique for you in be in a position to give back.” He grimaced suddenly. “Please, I leave my honour in your hands. Complete my mission so that I do not dishonour myself to assist your lady.”

I nodded, and released the harness. In truth, I was sad to see the beast go- I could think of a lot of good tactical uses for a flying, seven hit die monster with three attacks per round.

So burdened, Barador needed to take off like a plane. Seran heeled the griffon to a wide stretch of field, far from the farm buildings, gave a brief salute, and then Barador ran forward, great eagle-like wings spreading and flapping until the great beast was able to find the momentum needed to catch the wind and soar up into the air.

On the ground, the griffon was huge and ungainly, but with it's wings outstretched and paws gathered close to it's body, Barador's flying seemed graceful, even majestic.

Voss whistled, evidently impressed. “I have got to get one of those.”

Moruca snorted. “You want to fall that badly?”

“I want to fly,” Voss corrected, “Falling is what happens when you screw up.”

Moruca smirked at the knight. “And how many times did you fall learning to ride a horse? You think that won't happen just because your mount has wings?”

Voss scowled. “If these elves can do it, so can I. Besides, haven't you ever heard of rope?”

“Come on,” I interrupted, “We need to get back to Rhymer's Cross and plan our attack on the goblin hideout.”

Voss turned his back on the old woman, seething. We weren't really in a hurry, but I had never seen Voss like this. He was gregarious, cocky, occasionally witty, but he never seemed so bitter and angry before. I guess I wasn't the only one who was feeling Calliope's loss.

I think I could understand, though. Calliope- smart, witty, courageous and magically potent- could not possibly by replaced by an old woman, a pervert gnome, and some half-blind elf dude. Part of me resented all three of them for having the audacity to live when Calliope had died. I suppose my semi-split personality let me control that emotion to a degree, but as we rode in silence back to Rhymer's Cross, it only grew. My mind gnawed at that resentment like a dog chewing a bone. Especially seeing Haseth riding Buttermilk, since we had no other horses... it all seemed wrong, somehow.

The gate guards, who had become used to our coming and goings, immediately intuited that something dire had happened when they saw that Calliope had been replaced by Haseth. As they helped us unload our forage, one disappeared, heading further into town. When he returned, it was with Estrid- the young Shire-Reeve's usually stoic expression only slightly softened.

“You have my condolences about your lost party member,” she said, with all the sensitivity of a brick, as expected.

“It's a dangerous job,” I replied bitterly, “This is Haseth, a warrior from the mist elves. He's agreed to assist us with the goblin problem.”

Haseth gave a salute, as one warrior to another, but Estrid was already shaking her head.

“Aye, I know he's a mist elf, and that's why he's not welcome here.”

My eyes narrows in confusion. The drunken gnome worshipping the literal god of secrets was welcome, and this elf wasn't?

“Sir Theodore,” Haseth spoke into the awkward silence, “I think I see what is happening here, if you care to listen. And this young lady may feel free to correct me as she sees fit, to represent her point of view.”

“Alright...”

“This land- what humans call the Lakelands, we refer to as Kreieth Shai- the Shattered River. Once, a long time ago, we conquered this land from the hill dwarves, and ruled this land as part of our kingdom. But due to internal strife, we had to recede back to the valley containing our capital city, and the Vale of Mist beyond,” he explained, “It was some decades after that, when humans migrated into the area. Officially, the Mist-King knows that this land is outside our influence, but that does not keep some of citizenry from seeing it as ours, and the humans as interlopers. They have been known to occasionally make mischief for the human settlers.”

“Mischief!?” Estrid's eyes went wide with a mix of surprise and anger, “You call driving people- good, honest people- off their land with sword and fire, torching homes and fields, to be mere mischief!?”

Great, there's an elven Klan. This won't be an awful situation to explain my way out of.

Haseth bowed his head, in response. “Forgive me, I did not mean to cause offence. And allow me to apologize for our failure to police our own. I can understand your... reluctance to offer one such as myself hospitality under these circumstances. But if you'll allow Sir Theodore to explain, I believe I can help.”

“He thinks he knows where the goblins are operating from,” I explained, “We haven't discussed it in detail, but I think we may rest a day, and then make an assault and try to address the source of the problem.”

Estrid frowned. “Well, if it keeps my people safe, perhaps we can tolerate him for a few days.”

It was my turn to bow my head, this time in gratitude. “Thank you for understanding.”

“If there's trouble, I'm holding you responsible,” she replied, simply, before marching off to return to her duties.

I sighed. “Well, great. As if we didn't have enough going on, we also have racial tension,” I gave Haseth a wry look, “I thought you said that the mist elves were friendly to humans?”

“On the whole, we are,” Haseth said, sounding tired and sorrowful, “However, we have a bloody history, and there are many who have trouble in seeing that aspect of our culture for the cruelty and barbarism that it was. We are a people divided against each other, and for that reason, the Mist-King's council is deadlocked and we remain incapable of healing these old rifts.”

That made me blink in surprise. That went against everything I'd ever known about elves in AD&D, that's for sure. It was one of the fundamentals- sky is blue, water is wet, orcs are always chaotic evil and elves (except drow) are always good. I was driven to ask, “What the hell did your people do that was so terrible?”

Haseth hesitated for a moment. “My people's ancestors were the storm elves,” he said simply, as if that explained everything.

For some reason, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, but I had no real clue what he was talking about. “What's a storm elf?” I asked, resolving to someday invest in the History proficiency.

I heard an impressed whistle, and looked behind me to see Yua and Raszil standing nearby. Yua I expected- she usually followed close behind me- but I didn't realize Raszil was eavesdropping.

“Oh, they were nasty folk, alright,” he said, strolling up to fully join our conversation, “Blood sacrifice, dark magic, piracy, slavery... they worshipped nature, sure, but it was nature, red in tooth and claw. The kind of nature of predators and prey, and to hear it told, to a storm elf you were either a dangerous rival, or a prey animal to be used and abused as the predator saw fit.”

Haseth was trying to be stoic, but it was hard to miss the tightness in his eyes. I couldtell he was trying to hide his shame. The tall elf gave a reluctant nod. “It is as his his eminence says. The internal conflict that lead to our decline... to the storm elves, even someone who was part-slave was a storm elf so long as they were fully elven and strong enough. Those who were descended partly from other enslaved elves- the celestial elves, for example- inherited some of their slave-parent's culture, and wanted to live in a more peaceful society. It took a long time for the movement to gather steam, but eventually they overthrew the Storm-King and the druidic priesthood that supported his rule, and renamed their society.”

“Being a decent fucking person, as an idea, is kind of insidious in it's own way,” Raszil pointed out,   
“You get enough elves that got tired of seeing mom or dad get raped and whipped, and empathizing with their would-be victims, and from there it was only a matter of time until the mist elves outnumbered the true believers.”

“...And because you had alienated all your trading partners and potential allies as the storm elves, when the mist elves gave up their raiding culture it put the kingdom into decline,” I finished, thoughtfully, “I think I see, now.”

Back in my previous life, I hadn't really lingered on ideas of cultural or inherited guilt... that seemed like stupid normie stuff. Why should I waste precious gaming time worrying about that kind of thing? It didn't have anything to do with me. But I could see how visibly it affected Haseth... no wonder he and Seran were so eager to offer help, if they were carrying around this kind of baggage.

“Anyway, that's enough history lessons for now,” I said, waving my hand as if to fan away bad air, “Let's get back to the Reeve's office.”

“We're not going back to the baker's house?” Raszil asked, “You know, with the proper beds and warm meals?”

“Yes, we will,” I explained, “But somehow I don't think Haseth here will be welcome... and he might appreciate a bedroom he can lock himself into.”

We agreed to meet up at the Shrine-Reeve's office that afternoon, and Moruca said her goodbyes for the morning. When we showed Haseth his sleeping conditions a short while later, he was less than impressed.

“When you intervened with that young lady,” he said somewhat sourly, “I thought the intention was to keep me out of a cell?”

“Yeah, well, this time you have a key, so there's that,” I replied.

He frowned as he accepted the key from me. “I suppose it shall do.”

“Great, because frankly I'm too exhausted to make other arrangements for you,” I said flatly, “We'll see you this afternoon.”

I really was exhausted. Being up all night and doing a ton of walking around was taking it's toll, but at least Yua was kind enough to carry Calliope's saddlebags- including her two heavy-ass spellbooks- around for me. 

When we finally arrived back at Big Dap and Ina's place, I was just done. I mumbled a brief “Thank you for taking care of us again” to the lady of the house, and went straight to bed, leaving the bountiful breakfast to everyone else. The events of the night weighed on me, and all I wanted to do was sleep.

I only took enough time to kick off my socks before collapsing into bed. Something poked me in the side as I landed, hard enough to make me grunt in pain, and I rolled over to relieve the pressure. The pommel of Calliope's dagger had dug into my belly, from it's new home on my belt.

That's when I noticed Yua standing at the door, look awkward. I was so tired I didn't even notice she had followed me in.

“Forgive me, my Lord,” she said softly in her mother tongue, looking pained. She was normally so stoic that any expression at all was a bit of a shock to me.

“Oh, it's all right,” I said, sitting up, “I should have told you to go get something to eat.”

“No, it's not that,” she bit her lip, looking sad, “I-I failed you, and Lady Carriope is....”

Her accent struggling with the unfamiliar name would be adorable in other circumstances.

I laid back with a sigh. “It's my fault, Yua. I set the building on fire, because I didn't think. I kept using the Sigil of the Burning Hands because it was the best choice... if we kept fighting from ambush, in open fields. I didn't memorize the sleep hex, because I was too busy fucking her to take the time to think before I memorized my magic, and now....”

Yua was staring at me with wide eyes. Abruptly, I realized I had gone through this entire rant in her tongue without simplifying my language.

Shit.

“Y-your magic is indeed powerful, my Lord,” she said in awe.

I closed my eyes and breathed a small sigh of relief. Well, at least this time it appeared self-correcting. “Yeah, I suppose so,” I replied.

I heard Yua's soft footsteps as she approached the bed. “My Lord, if I may... please allow me to take care of you as your lady wives would.”

My eyes snapped open suddenly. “Wait, what are you...!?” 

“If it pleases My Lord, you should not sleep in your clothes,” she said as she gently undid my belt.

I tried to creep back on the bed, but with my belt in her hands I couldn't get far. “S-sorry, but this is proceeding a little too quickly....”

Instead, I found myself pulled to the edge of the bed, very firmly. “My Lord, please,” she said, with a pleading look, “At least... give me the satisfaction of assuaging some of my guilt.”

I sighed. “I guess, just... now's not the right time, okay?”

Yua looked to one side, blushing deeply. “M-my Lord... you misunderstand... please....”

I could feel my own face heating up as well. “Ah... sorry,” I replied, “D-do as you like.”

Yua took a deep breath to steady herself. She then- very carefully- took off my belt, and helped ease off my robes. Folding my robes carefully, while I sat awkwardly in my small clothes, she began stripping off her own mismatched armour.

When she was down to her own underclothes, she joined me on the bed, sitting on her knees with her back to the headboard. Gently, she pulled me back onto the bed, laying my own head on her lap. My nostils filled with the sweet smell of her sweat, and I could feel the softness of her thighs, which, I suddenly appreciated, had filled out quite nicely since we began feeding her properly.

“I know you feel, guilty, my Lord,” she said softly, stroking my hair away from my face, “But if the gods are good, your lady wife will be back with us, Sheomurath willing.”

I briefly began to wonder just who that was, and why the name seemed somehow familiar, but Yua began to sing. It was a simple, wordless song, and she wasn't exactly a masterful singer, but combined with the sensation of her fingers through my hair, it was comforting.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (6170/10000)  
Hit Points: 3/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): none  
(2nd Level): Knock, Knock

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (19), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 794 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	22. Isekai Life & Dragon Lore

I awoke to the soft sounds of someone snoring. I wriggled and stretched, feeling barely rested at all, and when I reached up to rub the sleep from eyes, my had encountered a gossamer curtain that felt impossibly soft.

I blinked sleepily upwards, to see that Yua had herself drifted off, with my head in her lap, in her sitting position. Her head had fallen forward at some point, and now I was surrounded by a curtain of her dark blue hair.

Her face was so close, I could feel her breath on my eyes. I swallowed, hard, and tried not to focus on my unattended morning wood as I oh so carefully shimmied out from beneath her. I didn't realize how my heart was pounding in my chest until I struggled to rise without disturbing the sleeping dragonborn.

Once I was back on my feet, I could regain some composure.

The first thing I thought up was Yua's position. She was still on her knees, just sleeping, with her lower back resting against the headboard of the bed and her body curved forward from there. I shook my head. That had to be hell on her back, and even if we were taking the day off from goblin hunting, she didn't deserve to wake up aching.

As gently as I could, I took her my the shoulder and slowly tipped her forward, pulling her back straight so she didn't feel as though she was falling. There was a brief moment of panic when, as I was setting her down, her antler caught on the sheet, but she barely stirred as I carefully unhooked the fabric.

There. She was splayed out on her front, with her feet on the pillows, but at least she wasn't crouched over like before, and she hadn't woken up. An overall win, I told myself.

Quietly as I could, I crept over to where Yua had put down Calliope's saddlebags. It felt a little bit like cheating- certainly Calliope, had she been alive to do so, would object to my poking through her things like this- but I promised myself, this was ultimately in service of getting her back as soon as possible. 

I found what I was looking for- the slim travel copy of the spellbook Calliope had been awarded by Hawkins back in Tresens, and cracked it open. Luckily for me it was written in ascending order of spell complexity- ie, spell level- so it was pretty easily to find what I was looking for. 

I flipped through the first level magic, at first struck by Calliope's poor luck. Of the five spells here, four of them were things we already had covered between us- The Sigil of the Burning Hands, Hex of Lotus and Willow, Eyes of the Arcane (that is, Detect Magic), and Mind of the Arcane (Read Magic). The fifth spell was unique (or at least I didn't think Calliope had it before), “Summoning of Celestial Lanterns”, aka Dancing Lights. It was a moderately useful alternate take on the basic Light spell that sacrificed tactical utility for the ability to conjure up to four torchlike lights, lighting a wider area, being able to snuff them quickly, and so forth. It was useful, but nothing to write home about.

Then I hit upon the stuff I was seeking- the second level magics. At first it started with more niche stuff, enough so that I was somewhat bewildered at exactly what kind of mage Hawkins had working for him. “Grasp the Fog of Thought”, or ESP, was certainly useful in the right situations, but of niche use. It'd be handy to have for negotiations or interrogations, but it wasn't what I was looking for. “Shroud of Waking Dream”, or Forget, was even less useful, as the “forgetting” effect only deleted a minute of memory and you couldn't make stuff up to fill the void, so under most circumstances you couldn't use it with perfect stealth. It could be useful, but it required a certain amount of set-up, or the perfect opportunity. “Kazar's Cunning Rope Trick”, or, well, Rope Trick, was a very useful travel spell that I honestly wish Calliope had let me study on the way up here from Pendelton- it let you conjure an extradimensional safe zone thirty feet up in the air, big enough for a certain amount of people to safely rest in. Then, finally, I hit gold.

“The Breath of Malediction”, more commonly known as Stinking Cloud, one of the gold-tier second-level spells. Or at least silver-tier. Affecting a twenty-foot cube, creatures within the gas had to save vs poison for me rendered completely unable to attack for up to five rounds after leaving the cloud. With a chokepoint or bottleneck, or even casting it into the middle of a mob, could render large numbers of enemies largely helpless for a long time. Using it against a crowd would be for the best, but even deploying it against a single enemy could make a hard boss fight into a breeze. 

First things first, though, I had a lot of study of my own to get to. I set the smaller spellbook aside, open to the page I wanted, and dragged my larger personal spellbook out of my own bags.

After yesterday's (this morning's?) ordeal, I didn't have a firm grasp on how my Armor spell protection was doing, and while the spell was never explicit on whether you could renew it while the effect was still on, it couldn't hurt to just leave it to Corgiel's judgment whether it was okay. So, first spell was obviously Armor, and with study tomorrow I could replace it with Burning Hands, which did too much damage to safely ignore. I just had to be more careful with how I used it.

For the next time I found myself in a position where it was tactically unsound to use fire magic, I picked Magic Missile. It's damage was severely under par still, but I could take some comfort in the fact that since I was now third level, I got to fire two magic missiles at once, which could be useful for taking out two weak goblins at once or just dealing like sixish damage to something larger.

Finally, Sleep was my third choice. It was still far too useful to abandon, and I was still cursing myself for not memorizing it yesterday.

The next step in my spell-learning sequence today was to dismiss one of my previously memorized uses of Knock. There weren't any locked objects in Big Dap's house that I was comfortable opening, but luckily Knock was a bit more multipurpose that than. I drew Calliope's dagger, and wedged the blade in the doorframe, down near the floor, careful not the damage the wood, although scracthing the paint a little was inevitable. When the door was good and stuck, I cast the spell- only once, as I might have need to open a cell or unlock a manacle in a hurry if there were slaves to rescue.

I don't know if the it was the sound of the spell “knocking” on the door or the clatter of the dagger falling to the floor, but I heard a sleepy groan from behind me. I rubbed my face with my palm in exasperation with myself. I had totally forgotten about Yua.

When I turn around, she was scrambling back to her knees, looking like a startled animal. “M-my lord, I-I'm so very sorry,” Yua babbled in her native tongue, “I-I-I may have done something indecent.”

I gave her a perplexed look, as I sat down on the edge of the bed next to her. “Indecent? No, nothing indecent happened,” I explained, “I finally had time to really process my grief, and you comforted me with some gentle words and a song. It was very appreciated, thank you.”

“B-but I shared my Lord's bed!” she protested.

I sighed. Was this some cultural thing or was she totally uneducated when it came to sex? “It's fine, Yua. As your lord, I'm telling you, you did nothing wrong, and I really appreciate you doing what you did.”

Yua seemed to relax a little, but them put her head in her hands and groaned. “E-everyone's going to think we... we....”

I puffed out my cheeks in thought. She wasn't wrong, especially with the reputation I had with Voss. “Well... I mean, really, is that a bad thing?” I replied, “You were there for me in a time of need, and it's not like you can understand their comments anyway.”

She looked away. “I've learned... some things. Enough.”

“Then I'll tell them what happened,” I said plainly, “Raszil is... well, a hanger-on, maybe hireling, sort of, I guess? ...So I can't control him, but Voss will trust my word.”

Yua stayed silent, pulling her legs towards herself and hugging them, looking ashamed.

I sighed. Maybe it was better to change the topic? 

“So... why are you so concerned with what a Lord should and shouldn't do with their retainers?” I asked, “You know how to fight, were you a knight or something.”

Yua was quiet for a long stretch. I honestly did think she was going to reply, and was formulating what I was going to say next when she shifted.

She slipped off the bed, kneeling down on the ground and bowing until her forehead touched my foot.

“My name is Ayanokouji Yua, first daughter of the Ayanokouji family of the Blue Dragon Clan,” she said to the floor.

“Uh... that's fine, but will you explain what all that means?” I asked, reaching over to tug at her arm, “And don't bow to me like that, anything you need to tell me you can tell me to my face.”

She reluctant sat up, although she didn't look directly at me. “My homeland is... far from here. I'm not certain which direction. It is all one island, that takes a healthy man one season to walk from it's most southern point to it's most northern. Technically, we are ruled by the Fifteen Dragon Emperor, but in truth he only holds sway over the clans who reside closest to his capital, and every clan is mostly autonomous. I am from the Blue Dragon Clan, which lives at the tip of the island at the most southern point. My family is minor nobility, in service to Lord Aoru, master of the Blue Dragon Clan.”

“A warrior family, like knights?” I asked. I already had a decent idea of what she was talking about- thank you, Legend of the Five Rings- but I still had to stay “in-character”, and wanted her to keep going.

“I'm still uncertain on exactly what a knight is, but yes, we were a warrior family,” she replied, “Since I could walk, I have studied the way of the sword, the bow, and other weapons. I was also schooled in the Sixfold Way, and walked the path of the warrior-monks of Sheomurath, the Dragon-God of Protection.”

That gave me pause. “Sheomurath...? Yua, do you recognize the name 'Magarath'?” I asked.

She shuddered involuntarily. “Yes, the Dragon-God of Destruction,” she answered, “Why do you ask?”

“The belief system you follow is connected to the one we follow here.” I explained what I could remember of the religious lore of this world, primarily about the All-Father, his wives, the gods that they all spawned, and the story of Magarath being born from the All-Father cursing his cheating wife and her lover.

Yua nodded along. “Yes, that is familiar. We know of the Father of Creation, and his three brides, the Heavens, the Earth and the Sea. They had children, but beyond that their stories are unknown to me. Our faith focuses on the Five Dragons of Blessing, the Five Dragons of Curse, and the Five Dragons of Thought.”

At a guess, we would have our five chromatic dragons, five metallic dragons, and five gem dragons out of that. “But, wait,” I interrupted, “Isn't blue the colour of one of the evil dragons?”

Yua nodded. “Kaphegorath, the Dragon-God of Envy. However, it is said that the worshippers of the Curse Dragons were driven out of my homeland long ago, and those of us faded dragonborn who remain have converted to the faith of the Blessing Dragons, and the righteous path of the Sixfold Way.”

Talking to Yua about her homeland was like trying to solve a Rubic's Cube, where every attempt to solve it just introduced a cavalcade of more questions. “Okay, what's a 'faded' dragonborn? And what's this Sixfold Way that you keep talking about?”

“The dragonborn who were created when the Curse Dragons dallied with mortals, just like the metal dragonborn and the jewel dragonborn,” she answered, “As for the Sixfold Way, it is a code of honour that guides our behaviour. All of the nobility of my homeland is expected to follow it, though not everyone has the strength of soul to swear to the way of the warrior-monk.” She smiled sadly. “I used to be so proud. I was the first woman of my clan to overcome the trials and swear the oath in a generation. Now....”

A thought suddenly occurred to me. I seized Yua by the shoulder and looked her in the eye. “Swearing you oath gives you powers, right? Powers granted by Sheomurath?”

“Y-yes,” she said, looking startled, “How did you...?”

“You can heal people with a touch, you're immune to disease, and you can... you can detect ill-intent?”

“Y-yes, that's exactly right. How did you know?”

I sighed, wishing that I had known it sooner.

“Yua, in these lands, this kind of warrior-monk... we call them a 'paladin'.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (6170/10000)  
Hit Points: 3/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Armor, Magic Missile, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock 

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (19), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 794 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Servant?)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	23. Isekai Life & Planning Session

“I don't understand. A... parradin?”

“Um,” I said, scratching my cheek, “Try this- make an 'r' sound, like you're growling, and them tap your tongue on the roof of your mouth.”

“Rrrrrlllllrrrrrlllllrrrrrlllll....”

“See, you're got it! That's how you make an 'L' Sound.”

“...Palradin?”

I smiled. “Well, it's a start.”

She looked puzzled. “What's significant about a 'palradin'?”

“Well, it's like you said, it's a difficult path to walk,” I replied, “That's what makes it special, there's maybe one paladin per every one thousand regular warriors.”

That seemed about right- although we had only two or maybe three fighters in our core party, we've met hundreds through city guards, knights, friends and allies like Shire-Reeve Estrid and Lord-Knight Hawkins. Well, maybe not hundreds, but there were a great many of them.

The paladin class also had some of the harshest requirements in order to join. No wonder Yua was filling out so well- with her quiet and reserved personality she would have to be gorgeous in order to justify that minimum Charisma of 17. 

It also required the character to follow some pretty strict requirements, including only owning so many magic items and tithing a great deal of coin to their temple. I suppose that Sixfold Way she was talking about was some kind of code of honour, and she only “owned” the one magic sword that I gave to her, but I don't know how we were going to tithe on her behalf....

“Yes, I suppose that makes sense,” she replied quietly, breaking my train of thought, “The way of the warrior-monk is difficult and challenging to tread, and most fail. But... I don't know if they are truly the same.” 

“How so?”

Before Yua could answer, there was a sharp knock at the door. Raszil's voice filtered in from the hallway, sounding annoyed. “Hey, Theodore, I know you're buried face-deep in your new girl, but didn't you want us to get your last one back?”

I sighed, and looked over to Yua. “We're needed downstairs,” I told her in her own tongue. She flushed with embarassment, and I hastily added, “Uh, don't worry, I don't think that he thinks you slept with me.”

I tried to hide it, but I was wincing internally. Making a habit of lying to a paladin like this couldn't end well. 

Yua seemed to accept it nonetheless, and we headed downstairs together. Voss and Raszil were silent, and as soon as I didn't have Yua to distract me, I returned to my gloom. Calliope was gone, her body being flown to a strange city on the other side of the Lakelands, and there was a chance that she'd be dead for good, all thanks to my stupid mistake. The bread, formerly a tasty, flaky treat, tastes dull in my mouth.

It had occurred to be, with a growing feeling of dread sliding into my gut like an icy knife, that because Ashryn could not pinpoint how Calliope fit in with her prophecy, Calliope might not be coming back at all. Surely, Corgiel or Dog or whoever was in charge of this roll hadn't already determined Calliope's resurrection chance result... could they?

I barely noticed Ina sliding into the room, dusting her hands off on her apron. “The bath is ready, if you'd all like to partake.”

“Oh, don't mind if I do,” Raszil said immediately, hopping up from his oversized (for him) chair.

To try an distract myself from the gloom that came over me, I busied myself with copying Stinking Cloud from Calliope's new spellbook to mine. Properly copying all the glyphs and diagrams could take a very long time, and, well, if Calliope got raised successfully, I'd have to make sure to return her spellbook before she found out....

Before I knew it, Voss clapped me on the shoulder.

“Hey, Theodore, the bath's yours,” he said, his skin flushed with a fresh scrubbing, “Even Yua's gone through.”

I shook my head. “No, thank you,” I replied as I tucked my spellbooks away in my pack, “Moruca and Haseth are probably already waiting for us, we should get moving.”

“Alright, sure,” Voss said, sounding concerned, but I brushed it off. Despite the chance of Calliope failing her resurrection roll, I wouldn't get her back at all if I didn't keep up my end of the bargain and help Haseth get back whatever the goblins stole from the elves.

When the four of us arrived at the reeve's office, Moruca was already waiting for us. Haseth was still locked in his cell, but when he saw me walk in, he unlocked the bars and hurried over to where we were gathering around the desk. I fetched the map that Ricard had supplied us with what seemed like ages ago, and spread it out so everyone could see.

“So, for this operation, we will be be attacking the goblins in their lair,” I said, as I put out heavy objects- my spellbook, Calliope's dagger, etc- to weight down the four corners of the map. “We have four objectives. One, find the item that the goblins stole from the elves, and complete Haseth's mission. Equal to that is our own mission- defeat the goblins and destroy their nest, to make the area safe for the local farmers again. If we can safely do so, freeing the captured goblins slaves so they can help us is objective number three. Fourth, goblins have been known to accumulate enchanted objects and treasure, and even if we fail all three of our other objectives, raiding their treasure horde could help us prepare for another foray.”

Raszil barked a laugh from where he was standing on the office's only chair. “Just like an adventurer to think of treasure in all situations. Oh, don't give me that look, Voss, he's right, besides, I wouldn't mind getting paid one of these days.”

I looked across the map at the elven soldier. “So, where are we headed to?”

Haseth glanced about the map for a moment, to get his bearings, and then tapped the fortress that was sitting on the coast. “This is where they're hiding. It used to be a tower overlooking the harbour used by the hill dwarves, centuries ago, but the harbour has long washed away. The tower has half fallen into the ocean from disrepair, but it's still solid enough. We suspected that the slave labour was being used to repair it.”

Moruca snorted. Just as she suspected, the goblins were holed up there. I shoulder have been more certain- it was the only place around that looked like it could be a dungeon.

“Alright,” I continued, “So unless anyone objects, we use the plan Moruca outlined for us a few days ago. We local the goblins' landing spot on this part of the Lakelands, steal one or two of their boats, and head downriver to the coat, before moving towards the tower. Depending on how long it takes, and how secretive we have to be, we may have one more day of camping ahead of us. Once there, we'll sneak in at dawn. Goblins and wargs are nocturnal, so they should only have guards out to watch for us. If we can quietly take out the guards and penetrate the tower, we'll only have a relative handful of goblins to deal with.”

“Aye, makes sense,” Moruca replied, “but you've failed to take into account that tis' a fortress made for dwarfs. Most of us are on the big side for that, right? And if the halls are that narrow, I won't be able to use my bow, I'll just be half-assing it with my hatchet.”

“Ah, yeah, good point,” I said, “Well, Voss is a spear expert, so he shouldn't have any problem making thrusting attacks.”

“Yeah, that's true,” he replied with a sigh, “Not going to have much of a chance to practice with my halberd, though.”

I chose to ignore that. “Yua can thrust with a greatsword, though it'll be awkward for her. Raszil will be just the right size for the situation, and I'm just throwing darts. Haseth, do you mind taking point along with Voss?”

The elven veteran nodded. “Ah, I see. I can thrust more easily with a longsword, and if the halls are too narrow for fighting abreast I can protect the knight while he uses his spear around my sword arm. Wise.”

“Jeez, 'the knight' has a name, you know,” Voss interjected bitterly.

Haseth nodded. “Forgive me, but we only just met this morning. Ross, was it?”

“Point taken,” Voss replied with a shrug, “Go on with what you were saying.”

“The woman, Monica?” Haseth continued, “She has a valid point. If she is primarily an archer, her use within will be limited.”

“That said, Moruca's skills will be invaluable when it comes to actually getting there,” I replied, “So, sorry, Moruca, but you'll have to keep watch, guard our horses, and handle any goblins or slaves that flee the tower appropriately. The slaves will be needing guidance to get back here, and the goblins-”

“Will be needin' arrows between the shoulders,” she said with a startlingly vicious grin, “Aye, alright, I can do that.”

“Right, so...” I gestured pointlessly, “I guess, pack up whatever you need, and rest up, we're leaving tomorrow morning. Any questions before we break?”

Haseth nodded. “I'll need to rely on your party for supplies since I doubt the merchants here will be willing to deal with an elf.”

“They're not operating under the normal rules of commerce,” Raszil explained, “There's always someone willing to do something for coin, but the 'black market', as it were, is inflated all to hell, even if they're willing to sell to an elf. The shire-reeve has been granting us supplies, but I suppose it couldn't hurt to restock on certain tools of the adventuring trade.”

I looked to Voss, tossing him my personal coin pouch. He caught it in one hand with a grin. “We'll need rope, lantern oil, arrows, darts, maybe a prybar,” I told him, “The usual, you know?”

“Yeah, I can make a few educated guesses at what we'll need,” he replied, “Oilcloth, too, to keep the saltwater off our equipment.”

“I'll be needing a few specifics as well,” Raszil added, hopping off the chair, “Do you mind if I join you?”

“Sure, may as well,” Voss allowed, “Extra hands and all that.”

“Oh, and one more thing,” I said, also slapping my forehead for forgetting, “See if you can get some rotten eggs, or... skunk cabbage. I'll need it for a spell.” 

Voss and Raszil both made disgusted faces. “Well, you're the boss,” Voss said, “I'll see what I can do.”

I frowned, suddenly realizing that neither half of me had any idea what skunk cabbage actually was. Hopefully one of them would have a better idea.

Moruca gave me a nod. “I'll fetch some more arrows them, I'll be needing plenty of them.”

“Of course. Until tomorrow, then,” I said as I bid her goodbye.

She waved vaguely in my direction and headed out.

It was just Haseth, myself, and Yua, who was dutifully standing at my right hand, and staring straight ahead. Briefly, I wondered when she'd be done learning enough of the common tongue to participate in these conversations.

I sighed, and turned back to Haseth. “Have you eaten at all?”

“Yes, I have my own provisions.”

Well, that was something. “I know you're kind of stuck in here until we leave, so please don't hesitate to ask for anything while we're here.”

“Understood,” he said with a firm nod, “But the only thing I require is get this mission under way. I understand that humans need time to adjust their sleep habits- I'm not complaining about taking the time to make sound preparations like that, but for the time being I am waiting upon you.”

I pulled Raszil's chair over, dusting the flecks of mud from his boots away, and sat down.

“What is this thing that you're looking for, anyway?” I asked, “You've been kind of cagey about it, and if something happens to you, well, I'd still want to complete your mission and get Calliope back.”

Haseth stared at me, evaluating, with his good eye. Then he glanced at Yua. “Can she be trusted?”

“She can,” I replied, noticing how Yua seemed to stand up straighter under Haseth's scrutiny, “She doesn't speak much common, but even if she can figure out what we're talking about, I trust her absolutely.”

Haseth looked down, seeming to study the map, but I figured he was instead collecting his thoughts. “I... ah, the Ravenwatch. We are the unit given specifically to protecting the royal family of the place you term the Misty Kingdom. My commander serves the king directly. And I was in charge of the detail protecting one of the royal heirs, who, when she heard about the goblins threatening the local humans, demanded that we take some of the royal griffons out and investigate the situation. Until my unit was ambushed in our sleep, and one of my subordinates died, while two others were captured.”

It suddenly clicked. “You're not looking for an item at all, are you?”

“No,” Haseth said, quietly, faced looking weary, “The 'something precious' that was stolen from my liege wasn't an object. Hidden among the Ravenwatch captured by the goblins, disguised as one of us, is the second princess, Kythaela Loica.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (6170/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Armor, Magic Missile, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock 

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (19), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 350 gp, 794 sp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	24. Isekai Life & Rising Distrust

A day and a half later we were concealed in the brush along the coast, looking across the rocky shore to the massive tower that the goblins were using as their base.

Getting there had been fairly straightforward. After a night of restless sleep for myself, at least, we roused before dawn and set out. Voss had us well provisioned, with enough food for the trip out and back (mostly hard tack, provided at a decent price by Big Dap), plenty of rope, oilcloths to wrap our equipment in, and several other adventuring necessities. Of course, we had also been healed by the town's ever-helpful priest. We started by heading east, until we reached the riverside, before following the river north, hunting for the goblin landing site. 

We lucked into the trail of one of their hunting parties early on, and followed their back trail to their landing site. A quartet of goblins had been left behind to guard the site, but only one was paying any attention. Moruca was able to down the one alert guard with a single arrow, then her and, surprisingly, Raszil were able able to sneak into the landing site and deal rather ruthlessly with the others. I suppose I shouldn't be shocked that Raszil knew how to sneak around- as a cleric of a god of secrets, I should have expected that he'd turn out to be a cleric/thief multiclass.

Unfortunately, the boats proven to have too shallow a draft to transport our mounts. They were just a handful of flat-bottomed rowboats, and while a warg was roughly the same size as a horse, the horses were a great deal taller and not trained to lie down quietly while we paddled along. With a bit of scouting around, Moruca was able to find a grassy paddock belonging to a farmer she knew, where we could pen up the horses where they could graze until we could retrieve them. Hopefully the goblins that were soon to be stranded here wouldn't trouble them, or if they did, Stout would give them enough trouble to make it not worth it. Hopefully, once they realized what was happening, the goblins would rush home on foot (or warg), giving us a day or two to deal with the lair before they returned.

We packed our supplies into three of the boats, and Voss punched holes into the ones we weren't using with his halberd before we shoved off. One we were out and paddling with the current, it didn't take us long- only about three-quarters of the day- to make it to the coast.

Thankfully, where our particular stretch of river met the sea was surrounded by thick woods. While we should see the top of the goblin's tower sticking crookedly out of the top of the forest, we felt it was unlikely that they would be able to notice us on the river, surrounded by all the foliage in full midsummer splendour. After beaching our boats, we spent one tense but uneventful night camping at the riverside, right on the edge of the goblins' neighborhood. By morning, we were ready to make our approach.

The tower was square, and seemed to me to be more a “keep” than a “tower”, just by the sheer size of it. I spent most of the morning glancing up and wondering if a “keep” was really just a fat tower with a wall around it. At one point, it must have been quite the intimidating sight, pale grey stone reaching up into the sky, with four tiers divided by battlements on which I easily imagined dwarven archers and catapults. It still had a sort of decayed, gothic grandeur even now, as it listed sharply to lean over the ocean at an eighty degree angle. Time had worn away the shore, and it was obvious to anyone passers by that the tower's days were numbered, especially considering that there was a great hole ripped into the wall of the tower, facing the shore, which had a crude ramp of fallen masonry and rock leading up to it. The actual entrance to the tower faced the ocean, and was sunken beneath the waterline.

Our hiding spot was selected by Moruca with care, an outrcropping which stuck out of the coast compared to the tower, where we'd have an unimpeded view across the shore at the tower but had plenty of cover for ourselves. “Reckon that the little bastard can't see for shit in the daylight,” she explained, “So we should be safe here.”

That checked out, with what I knew about goblins. Still, moving up to the tower could be dangerous, if they left any worgs hanging around that didn't get taken on patrol.

I put my hand up to shade my eyes, scanning the tower for movement, but I saw none, but with how well organized these goblins were, I didn't trust it- they had to have someone on watch while they slept, if only to see if any of the slaves were getting away.

“So, any insights you have there, boss?” Voss asked, “You seem to have a pretty good academic understanding of these guys.”

I frowned. If my numbers were correct, and we've seen most of their worg-rider force... “They'd have one hundred forty, maybe one hundred fifty goblin warriors left,” I said referring to the numbers scrawled on my ledger, “They're very ruthless and violent when it comes to their place in goblin society, so expect the leaders to be strong enough to hold on to their position... With the numbers I'm seeing, I'd imagine there are at least two or three factions, who would have their own leaders under a central chief. There'd be even more noncombatants, goblin children and goblins too weak to fight... so, maybe six hundred goblins total.”

Raszil made an impressed whistle. The rest of the group was silent, maybe just now realizing how much work there was ahead of us.

“Oh, right,” I said, shutting the ledger carefully so as not to make excess noise, “There might be a group of bugbears. The two races get along, and sometimes goblins hire bugbear mercenaries.”

“Oh, good,” Raszil quipped, “I was hoping this was going to be easy.”

I waved my hand, dismissing his remark. “Thing is, the run of the mill goblins aren't what's really dangerous. We've been killing them by the dozen every night for over a week, at least Voss, Yua and I have,” I replied, “It's been those damn worgs that are the real danger, and I think it's safe to assume we killed the majority of them three days ago, when... when we met Haseth and Seran.”

“So how does a bugbear stack up to a worg, then?” Moruca asked.

I thought about it. Both creatures had similar hit dice. The bugbears had a bonus to taking their opponents by surprise, and were exceptionally strong, enough so that they get a flat +2 to all damage rolls they made in melee, while the worgs were just bigger, evil, more dangerous wolves, with all that implied. “Bugbears would be a little bit stronger,” I admitted, “But there would probably be fewer of them, if that helps. There would have to be a small enough group to be useful to the goblins without being a threat to the goblin chief.”

Another thoughtful silence fell over us, as everyone processed that tidbit.

“So, first things first, we have to figure out how we're getting in,” I said, trying to snap them out of the introspective gloom, “Haseth, you said you scouted this place out before, with the Ravenwatch?”

Haseth nodded, and pointed to the top of the tower. “We lighted on the tower top with our griffons, and attempted to infiltrate from the top, down,” he explained, “We thought we were being careful, but nonetheless they knew we were coming, and attacked us in the narrow confines of the top floors, where we got separated. That's when the princess and many of my comrades were taken. Seran, being the youngest, was guarding the griffons on the tower top, and I....” He hesitated, grimacing, “I was wounded, and saw them carrying off the princess and my comrades like trussed pigs. I had an opportunity to flee, to get assistance, and so, I did.”

The phrase “Slaves, women, meat” came unbidden into my mind, and I tried my best to ignore it, and focus on the matter at hand.

“So the thing you mentioned you were looking for,” Raszil said, deep in consideration, “It was a princess.”

Haseth nodded, uncomfortably. “Forgive me, I thought that Theodore might have shared this with you already.” Well, I hadn't, thinking that Haseth had told me that in coinfidence... and now I felt a little stupid for that. “I am the captain of Princess Kythaela's bodyguard, sworn to protect her,” he explained, “When she found out about the mass disappearances happening among the human settlements, she demanded that the king do something about it. After the Royal Senate deadlocked, arguing about what would constitute an appropriate response, she took her personal bodyguard, that is, my unit of the Ravenwatch, and sought to take matters into her own hands.”

“Okay, so climbing is out, even if that idea wasn't suicidal,” Voss muttered, trying to refocus the conversation, “And a frontal assault would just be stupid.”

The silence loomed again as we considered our options. Something came to me, but just as I was about to open my mouth, Raszil interrupted me.

“Hey, Haseth, is there any particular reason why you didn't just go to your king, tell him that his daughter was kidnapped, and come back here with an entire fucking army at your back?”

Except for Yua, who was still dutifully scanning the surrounding forest for a goblin sneak attack, all eyes went to the elf, whose grimace deepened. “It's a matter of honour,” he explained, “If I go back, and the fact that the princess was kidnapped is made known... there will be dire consequences.”

“Dire how?” Voss asked, a cold edge slipping into his voice. I could understand why... the realization that Haseth could have easily reported back and brought out an retributive force to fight the goblins, take back in the princess, and in so doing, save Rhymer's Cross from starvation and prevented Calliope's death cut like a knife.

“Dire,” Haseth repeated, “We are still bound by many traditions, traditions that Princess Kythaela often spoke out against. And my failure to protect would have consequences, for myself, for Seran and for her.”

The only sound was the distant surf, and the creak of Moruca's leather gauntlets as he clenched her fists in anger. Things were getting dangerous.

“Look, everyone, please, let's not gang up on Haseth,” I said, pulling everyone's attention back to me, “Haseth has his reasons. And who knows, maybe if he did go back that... Royal Senate or whatever would prevent the elf-king from acting again. Right now, we're in a position to help, and be helped, okay? There's no sense playing what-ifs over resources that Haseth may or may not have been able to get. If we end up divided against each other, we've already lost, okay?”

That seemed to take the immediate edge off the situation. I took advantage of that and pointed back at the tower. “So, the goblins seem to be using that big old hole to enter and exit, and that's because the real entrance is underwater, right?” I pointed down to where the tower met the surf, “That might be our way in. We send whoever can swim down through there, and they can deal with whoever or whatever is guarding the entrance so the rest of us can sneak in unhindered.” I looked back at my bad of fellow adventurers. “So, who here can swim?” I asked, raising my own hand.

There was a lot of awkward fidgeting. Raszil coughed quietly. Moruca was carefully studying her bowstring. Even Haseth looked a little embarrassed.

I sighed, teh switched over to Yua's tongue. “Yua... you know how to swim, right?”

The way she flushed scarlet told me all I needed to know. “W-well, I know how to dog paddle....”

Great. Wonderful. Stupendous.

“Alright, I guess I have to do it alone.”

“Wait, what?” Voss asked, giving me a bewildered look, “Are you insane?”

“You said it yourself, just walking in through the front would be crazy,” I countered.

“Well, getting murdered by Katriana because I let you go off and drown under a pile of rocks is equally crazy.”

“Or murdered alone by goblins,” Raszil offered.

Voss pointed at the gnome. “Or that. Come on, Theodore, there's gotta be a better way.”

“Sure,” I responded, crossing my arms, “I'm all ears.”

“Um....”

Not long after, we had headed up the coast, closer to the tower and a little deeper in the foliage. I was stripping down to my smallclothes. I gave the group about ten minutes, but nobody seemed forthcoming with any better ideas.

I had used a strap to bundle up nine of my darts and strap them to my upper arm, and wrapped a small component pouch in oilcloth. That pouch got wrapped up in the coils of one of Voss' hempen ropes. Calliope's dagger I was going to carry in my teeth- not because I had a mind to use it in combat, of course, but rather because a blade was just a handy tool to have in these circumstances.

Voss was just shaking his head at me while I folded up my robes and slipped it in my pack. I gave him a raised eyebrow. “You finally have a better plan?” I whispered.

“No, just shaking my head in wonderful at how you get all the attention you do with that scrawny body.”

Scrawny? I looked down at myself. I had always thought that the body I inherited from Theodore was kind of soft and pudgy...

When I looked around the group, Raszil seemed kind of amused, most people were on edge, and Yua blushed and looked away for some reason. Weird... I was basically just wearing a bathing suit. It was hardly racy.

“Before you decide to do anything else, give me an hour,” I whispered.

Haseth nodded. “Seems prudent. If you can, give us a signal before we should get moving.”

I nodded, and offered him a hand. He clasped it. “We'll get your princess back,” I promised.

“Aye, and you'll get your lady, as well,” he replied.

As quietly as I could, I slipped through the underbrush and headed towards the shore.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (6170/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Magic Missile, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud 

Equipment: Belt Pouch (Small, 1), Darts (9), Dagger.

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Ryujin

Companions: Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Backpack (with Voss): Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 3), Boots, Darts (30), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	25. Isekai Life & Solo Mission

I slipped, as quietly as I could, down the shoreline, heading towards the ruined tower. I didn't try hiding much- I was unskilled at at it, and there wasn't a lot of cover along the beach anyway. Goblins and bugbears both weren't exact renowned for their discipline, so while I had no doubt that there were guards of some sort, I had hoped they wouldn't be standing there overlooking the (usually) empty beach like an elite soldier. I did try to make sure I didn't make any noise that could be heard over the sounds of the surf, and was walking with the water around my ankles, in hopes that would confound as scent trail I was leaving for the worgs.

I managed to make it to the foot of the tower unmolested. Which was a good sign- I doubt that any self-respecting bored goblinoid on guard duty would pass up the chance to pass the time by bullying a half-naked stranger with a knife.

The stones of the tower near the ocean were beaten smooth by the waves, and green algae marked low tide. I stopped long enough to strain for the sounds from within the tower, but I only heard a dim cracking sound- a whip, maybe? Otherwise, it seemed silent.

So, I bit down on the blade of Calliope's dagger, gave a half-hearted wave towards the tree line, and prayed that Voss wasn't right about how crazy this was. Then, I turned towards the sea.

The water was chill, and my feet slid over slippery rocks hidden just beneath the water line as I waded into the ocean, circling around the tower, trying not to think about what might be hidden in the slimy kelp that clung around my ankles. I knew that, with my Constitution and AD&D's ridiculous “round” length of one minute, I should be able to hold my breath for about three minutes- one third my ability score, rounded up. My loose plan was to do a couple trips to scout things out, then make my infiltration attempt once I've determined whether the doorway was clear enough to enter.

As soon as the water was just above my waist, I knew it was now or never- I took a few quick pants and then took one final, deep breath with my lungs above water, without any pressure from the ocean squeezing my chest, and dove.

The first thing I noticed was how much my eyes didn't sting. I had expected some level of pain from the salt water, but then remembered that the city I- that is, Theodore-me- grew up it was built around a lagoon, and that he learned how to swim in ocean waters. One less annoyance, I suppose.

The second thing I noticed was the bones.

Surrounding the tower in all directions, under the water, were the whitish-grey remains of humanoids- skulls, rib cages, bones of every size and type arrayed around the base of the tower, each one picked perfectly clean. Obviously the goblins were just dumping the bodies of whoever they happened to kill into the sea, but if that was the case why weren't the bodies washing up on shore?

That's when I noticed, to my horror, a mottled grey humanoid... thing slip out of a natural cleft in the sea bed and pull it's way over to one of the bone piles and start picking through. And once I identified what it was, I could see more, huddled here and there where their grey, rotting flesh was blending in with the rocks that made up the sea bed. Lacedons- aquatic ghouls, possessed of the same paralytic touch of their land-borne cousins.

For now the lacedons didn't notice me- if the goblins were just casting bodies off the top of the tower, it made sense that the lacedons' attention wouldn't be right at the base- so, instead of properly swimming, I slowly pulled myself along the bottom of the algae-slick stones. Already I could feel my heart thudding in my ears- I wouldn't have long.

When I pulled myself around the corner of the tower, I could see the main entrance to the tower, outlined by a decorative archway now slimed over with algae. It was easy to imagine an elaborate walkway or some other kind of device used to defend the tower, perhaps a wooden boardwalk that could be retracted or dunked into the water when enemies approached, that would have protected this tower before it started to fall into the sea.

Suddenly, I spotted movement. Glancing over, I could see a pair of the lacedons heading my way, loping across the sea floor in a way that reminded me of astronauts skipping along the moon.

I briefly wondered if I would drown from being paralyzed under water before I really felt them eating me, then shook my head to dismiss the thought. I couldn't defend myself- not with a dagger I was not proficient with, fighting off a pair of 2 hit die monsters- and all my spells had verbal components, but I had one major advantage- a movement speed of 12 to their 9.

I kicked forward, going “loud”, so to speak, in a desperate dash to reach the entrance before any of the lacedons managed to catch up with me. With my belly facing the wall, the better to stay out of reach of my would-be predators, I could see along the top edge of my vision pale heads turn my way and start heading towards me with that ridiculous looking lope. I wiggled around the archway and finally laid eyes on the door.

One of the great, ten-foot tall doors was still perfectly in place, corroded with a green patina, but no algae. The other door was broken, free of it's top hinge and slanted inward at the top. Just barely enough room for a human man to slip through into the bottom floor of the tower... or a ghoul.

My only hope was to get out of the water before they caught me. I kicked and shot over the doorway, my back sliding along the slick surface of the archway while the door scraped my chest, and and into the murk of the tower. From what little I could see with the light available, the floor was littered with fallen stone, but sloped up and out of the water. I began to kick forward, when I was distracted from a bright flash behind me. I spun the water, my body taking a moment to catch up to my head, just it time to see one of the lacedons falling away, arm blackened bubbling in the water. None of them had followed me into the tower.

I kicked and broke the surface, gasping for air as quietly as I could. It was dark, although I could see a tiny bit of light filtering down from a rubbled-strewn staircase at the far end of the room. I strained to hear, trying to will my breath and my thundering heartbeat to quiet, but couldn't sense anything, except faint movement on the floor above.

I had made it, into the tower, at least.

But first, my curiosity demanded to be satisfied. I took as deep a breath as I dared, then turned and slipped back under, carefully picking my way over to the massive gates. One of the lacedons was swim-walking just outside the doors, waiting for his meal to return. When he saw me in the water against, he pushed forward, reaching... and the second his chest touched the giant metal door, he flailed, a black, bubbling mark striped across his body. 

Ignoring the ghoul I did my best to scrutinize the doors from a safe distance. It was difficult to tell in the gloom, but there might have been faint runes etched into the door, buried beneath the layers of verdigris. Those hill dwarves were evidently serious about protecting their tower, having enchanted the main entrance with some variant of Protection from Evil. It seemed appropriate in a Dwarf Fortress kind of way.

Not exactly the most convenient form of magic item, but I wasn't about to look the loot horse in the mouth. There was a lot of potential in giant, enchanted doors, particularly bronze ones large and heavy and consecrated enough to make for improvised siege weapons if I was ever up against a race of undead giants or something.

I surfaced once more, being careful not to gasp for air, and slowly crawled out of the water onto the rough surface of the stone floor, careful not to splash. The room was dark enough that I could barely make out the shapes of the rubble surrounding me, but it seemed like some kind of large receiving or assembly hall. The rubble was concentrated around the walls of the room, which lead me to believe that the ramp outside was made out of the stone and detritus that used to fill this room. Seemed likely, anyway.

I was still not a thief, and while the area seemed completely disused, an open-air stairwell connected this floor to the area above. I crawled, painstakingly slowly, inch by inches across the floor. After awhile, I began to shiver, as the water evaporating off my skin was finally taking it's toll on my body heat. Clenching my jaw to prevent myself from making noise, I curled up in the fetal position and waited for the trembling to pass.

That brave prince who tricked and taunted a god of destruction seemed pretty far away just at that moment.

Some time later, I finally scraped my way up to the stairwell, hiding as best I could in the shadows, and silently cursing myself for taking Knock over Invisibility. I could hear low, gutteral voices above, carrying on a conversation I couldn't quite make out. Nothing seemed to be in immediate sight of the stairway, so I braved a few steps, keeping my back pressed against the outer wall of the tower. Eventually, I could make out the harsh, croaking words of the goblin tongue.

“...blighter and take the whole thing for ourselves,” one of the voices was saying, “There's no reason why we'd take orders from a bunch of-”

“Because they outnumber us and don't give a tin shit about gold or silver,” a second voice interjected, “They're rough folk, I'll give them that, but we aren't goblins and they aren't going to forget that if we try to throw our weight around. Remember what happened to Urzdag and Gulthrub?”

“Yeah, I remember,” the first voice sullenly replied.

“All the more reason we should knock over the chief, I say,” announced a third.

“And that's why you two aren't the boss, I am,” stated the second voice again, “Filmor, you just earned yourself lookout duty.”

“Aw, man....”

Footsteps, and the unmistakable rattle of dice. “Ha, fives!” the third voice chortled.

Three bugbears, then, I thought. That was simple enough, if that one who got told off came back and they were all crowded around the same dice game, it'd be easy to Burning Hands the lot. I began to creep up the stairs, when suddenly I heard a distant, but unfortunately clear, chuckle, and another pair of voices still further away.

At least six, then, and all spread apart. Great. Still, I crept up the stairs ever so slowly and carefully, and took Calliope's dagger in hand. There wasn't anything better than my smallclothes to polish the blade on, and even then it wasn't exactly a mirrorlike shine- the blade was crafted to be sturdy, not pretty, and it had seen hard use since then- but maybe it would be enough. I eased the blade over the lip of the floor and panned it around.

I had initially assumed there would be some kind of internal structure to each of these floors that might let me go about with some manner of stealth, but that was limited to a series of pillars climbing the inside wall of the tower, giving the walls a blocky, geometric shape. The second floor was a large, open area very much like the first, and while it was hard to make out many of the shaped reflected in the dagger's blade, I could see where the stairway continued upwards.

Carefully, I slid the dagger back down and pressed the flat of the blade against my chest. There were at least six, possibly more bugbears, all in separate little groups. It's possible that I could put up a good enough fight for my knights and allies to make their assault- if they were watching carefully enough to see the action and could get to the tower in time. With the natural damage bonus bugbears received, though, I didn't like my chances of surviving an unlucky hit or two.

I needed more information, and that meant being more daring. I flipped over, levered myself up on my arms, and lifted my head to take a look around.

Between two pillars nearby, two of the bugbears were dicing. Three more, in the shadows of the wall next to the entrance hole, were sharing a bottle of wine and chatting. A sixth was running a shortsword over an oilstone in the far end of the tower, while two more were napping deep in the shadows of the pillars. One was in the light of the hole, looking out- that was why we didn't see any lookouts, I supposed, because they were lazy and complacent and only glanced around occasionally. Nine Dog-damned bugbears, and four of them had warhorns strapped to their belts along with their weapons. Why the hell did the chaotic evil goblinoids have so much tactical reasoning!

I ducked down again as Filmor (I guess?) drew back from the entrance hole and came back to the dice game.

“Nothing. It's always nothing. These humans have no idea anyone is even here.”

“Good, that's how I like it. It's your turn, Rist is on sevens.”

“Fuck off! Alright, let me try....”

I did happen to see where the stairs were, right across from where I was. Maybe ten feet away. There was no way I could sneak by right under the noses of nine bugbears, but then again, maybe I didn't have to. 

It didn't take long to find a chunk with the right heft and size among the rubble. And, of course, I am very good with thrown projectiles. I oriented myself towards the entrance, rose up smoothly and let fly, ducking back down before I saw the rubble reach it's destination.

I struck the top of the ramp with an audible thunk, then went rattling down- along with a sheet of scree. The bugbears were on their feet in seconds.

“Filmor! You great idiot, what in the three hells did you miss?”

“I don't know! There was nothing out there!”

“Well, I'm not the one who's going to be taking an arrow to find out! Get your hairy ass out there and see!”

Ever so carefully, I tiptoed up and across the floor, and padded up the stairs as quickly as I dared. If the next floor was deserted, and I could get to a window facing the same way as the entrance, I could signal the rest of the party and conduct some kind of pincer attack on the tower. 

I just had to be careful not to trip over the hundreds of sleeping goblins that were up in here somewhere.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (6566/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Magic Missile, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud 

Equipment: Belt Pouch (Small, 1), Darts (9), Dagger.

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Backpack (with Voss): Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 3), Boots, Darts (30), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	26. Isekai Life & Stealth Misadventures

At the top of the stairs, I tripped over a sleeping goblin.

I was in a hurry to make sure my feet were out of the line of sight from the returning bugbears. I could already heard one of them saying, “It's probably just the masonry, this whole thing is going to keel over someday soon,” and wasn't paying attention to my immediate surroundings. I reached the top, turned the corner, and stepped on a goblin's outstretched hand from where he was sleeping, tucked in between the wall and the staircase. When the goblin shrieked in pain and yanked his hand back, I stumbled backwards and fell.

In my own defense, I did my best. I sprang up and sank Calliope's dagger deep into the goblin's belly. It shriek and punched me in the face even as my nostrils filled with the nasty stench of fresh goblin blood, although the difference in our mass meant that he didn't do much more than give me a split lip. I was able to wrench the dagger free and stab again, killing him... and marvelling at my luck, having struck twice with that nasty -6 nonproficiency penalty.

Then again, I was was trying to stab a prone, mostly naked goblin....

But by the time the deed was done, it was already too late. Rough hands were hauling me up and back, twisting the dagger out of my hand to clatter on the floor and pushing me up against a wall.

“Lookie here, I think we found the source of our little racket!”

Three bugbears crowded around me, their leader speaking a crude, growly common. All three grinned nastily, and smelled like an eighteen year old brewery infested with rats.

“Thought you could get away, did ya? Came on down for a little swimmy-swim through the basement an' out to sea, huh?” In spite of the language change, I could just barely recognize the voice of the lead bugbear, “Clever, brave boy we got here.”

“Best be taking these,” one of the other bugbears growled as he pulled the darts out of the wrapper on my arm.

“Come on, now, don't look so angry,” the leader said to me, bringing his great snub-nose face in close to mine and lowering his voice conspiratorially, “I ain't no gobbo, and this was more entertainment than I've seen in months. Let's get you back up with the others, there's a good lad.”

He shoved me to the direction of the next set of stairs leading up. I noted with some annoyance that this level, for some reason, had internal walls as a few goblins were poking their heads through murder holes and doorways to peer at me with a cruelly cheerful curiosity. While it was tempting to lash out with my limited arcane powers and try to find a way out of this, there was no way to ready my spell components with them still wrapped up in my hemp rope “belt”, so I bit my tongue and choose to bide my time. After all, they seemed to think I was one of the slaves... and that meant they were taking me to where the other slaves were.

“Come on, Filmor, you go ahead, I'll take up the rear so he doesn't try any funny business,” the leader ordered in the goblin tongue as he and his subordinate escorted me somewhat roughly up the tower, “The rest of you get back to watch, and stay alert for other escapees.” I couldn't dally, obviously, bracketed by the two smelly goblinoids, but I tried my best to memorize the layout of the tower as we went. The “third” and “fourth” floors, counting from the old entrance and not the entrance-hole, were strictly regimented corridors with rooms off of them, but I had no idea what might have been their original purpose. There we goblins all over the place on these two floors, sleeping without rhyme or reason in the corridors and doorways, leaning against the walls.

The stairs all seemed to be fairly shallow and long, to accommodate a dwarvenly stride, each one running up the wall to a landing on the corner of the tower, then turning ninety degrees to continue along the next wall. The walls adjoining the stairs were marked by arrow slits on the exterior walls, and murder holes along the interior, so that the defenders of the tower could poke spears at oncoming enemies in case invaders broke through those big bronze doors I saw.

The “fifth” floor was different. It was similarly laid out to the others in terms of corridors, but with fewer doors, implying larger rooms. There were no goblins in sight, either. Also, immediately to my right as I came off the staircase, was the empty doorway opening up onto the first battlement.

“Come here, Filmor, I want to show this guy something, give him a little incentive about his plan,” ordered the bugbear leader in goblinese. The bugbear in front of my stopped and turned around, murmuring an assent as the two brute grabbed me by the arms and carried me out onto the battlements.

By this time, it was mid afternoon, and I had to squint against the sun. We were facing west, and I could see well over the forest, the shining ribbons of rivers crisscrossing the land. I only had a brief moment to hope that my allies didn't do anything stupid upon seeing me captured, if they noticed us, and then the two bugbears marched me all the way around the tower to the side facing the open ocean. The tilt in the tower, which was somewhat subtle up until this point, suddenly caused a sickening tightening of my gut as I found myself uncomfortably angled towards the vast, sparkling ocean.

“I want you to see this, human, so you can tell anyone else who's got any bright ideas upstairs,” the leader growled at me in Common, “See, we've been tossing our dead, our waste, and the slaves we execute out into the blue like this for awhile now, and you ought to know we've managed to gather a few friends.” He switched back to Goblin. “Hey, Filmor, take a look and see if you can spot the ghoulies.”

Filmor released his iron grip on my arm, and bent over the battlement to look. Of course, for us properly medium-sized creatures, the dwarven battlements only came up to our waist at best, and the lower part was right around the knees... which provided the perfect fulcrum as the bugbear leader booted the unfortunate Filmor in the ass and sent him, screaming, down towards the water.

The bugbear leader cackled with glee, pulled me disconcertingly towards the edge to see the splash as the unlucky Filmor struck water.

“That'll teach you to go around talking back at me and slinking about conspiring, you little flyblown bastard,” the bugbear leader chortled in Goblin, before switching back once more to Common, “See his thrashing about? Well, all that blood and guts in the water has aroused quite a collection of those little sea-ghoulies. If you or any of your little buddies get any ideas about swimming out of here again, keep that in mind- the second your ass touches water you're ghoul-meat.”

He took a moment to take in the sight of his onetime subordinate being feasted upon by the undead, and was distracted enough that I felt his hand relax around my arm. Suddenly, I realize the opportunity before me, took a half step back, danced my fingers through the mudra and cast a magic missile, sending twin blasts of enegry right into my captor's back.

“Whatcha muttering there, Elven or somethin'?” were his last words. Other than “Aaah!”

Too bad for him that he didn't die before the lacedons got hold of him. I was having a nice little moment, watching the sea foam, and being just a little proud of my handiwork. Two bugbears down, with a little help from their Chaotic Evil nature and the weakest spell I currently had in my repertoire.

Then I frowned as I realized one of them might have had Calliope's dagger. Great.

Being careful to keep quiet and move slowly, I inched my way back around the tower to the side facing west, stepped up to the (delightfully tilted toward me) battlements and started waving my arms towards the edge of the forest.

Someone tall and armoured stepped out of the trees and waved back, probably Voss, before making a wide, dramatic shrugging motion.

I took a moment to consider it. Down below there were only seven bugbear guards left on the second floor, which would be just about an even match for us if we tried a frontal assault. But, just above them were oodles of goblins, largely resting and sleeping, yes, but dozens, possibly hundreds of them... who I'd have to sneak by again.

I crossed my arms in an 'X' over my head. I could see Voss shake his head, then raise a fist. I couldn't make out the thumb at this distance, but I did recognize the universal “thumbs up” gesture. They'd be content to wait just a little bit longer until I came up with a better plan. 

Still, a contingency couldn't hurt. I unwrapped the rope from around my waist, tied it to one of the battlements as tightly as I could manage without the Rope Use proficiency, and dangled it off the side of the tower. It didn't quite reach the bottom, but it should be close enough for them to grab if they needed to. And as I side bonus, I now had my spell components readily at hand.

That done, I decided to locate the slaves. The best force multiplier available to me at the moment was simply multiplying my forces.

I padded over to the doorway, and strained to listen. Again, the tower was mostly quiet. I could heard an indistinct rhythmic tapping sound, like someone tapping on a drum to keep a beat, but for the most part it was silent. The bugbears did not seem to be stirring to check on their compatriots splashing down- maybe they thought that was my own execution they were hearing, a chilling thought- and, well, the entire tower sounded as if everyone was letting a bunch of sleepy goblins sleep. Who knew that the forces of evil could be so considerate?

First order of business was for me to check one of the murder holes. If the lower floors were used for housing goblins in such concentration that they were sleeping in the halls, I was curious as to what this floor was being used for.

I took a peek through one of the murder holes on my way up the stairs to the next level, shaded my eyes with my hands, and had a peek. The wall was sufficiently thick that I couldn't get too much of a look, but what I saw was all I needed- rows of straw beds on the floor, in an organized if not exactly precise fashion. There were goblins sleeping on the cots, and I could see clubs, hatchets and shortswords leaned up against the far wall. It seemed to me that here were the “barracks”, and below was housed the general goblin population.

When I finally started climbing the stairs, I did it with even more trepidation than before. If that goblin I barely managed to handle before was just some random craftsgoblin, I certainly didn't want to tangle with an armed guardsgoblin.

As I climbed the stairs, the rhythmic tapping drew closer, and, I noticed, there were occasional pauses in the noise, and sometimes the sound of metal on metal. When I finally turned the corner and had the landing in sight, I could see there was a rusty old portcullis in place, preventing access to that floor. 

Getting closer, I could see that this level had a large central hallway going straight through the tower, with a large room on one side, and several smaller rooms on the other. As I stood there investigating, I could see several people- human people- moving through the large room on the left.

As I was investigating, one of the people- an older girl with long, bushy orange hair, wearing only a dirty shift and carrying an iron pot, spotted me. I tried to raise a finger in a “shush” motion, but she goggled at me, totally distracted, until the iron pot fell from her fingers, clattering noisily on the stone floor.

Silently cursing, I had to think fast. I knew there were the goblin warriors sleeping just below, who undoubtedly would come investigate. There were no battlements on this level, no windows large enough for me to climb out of and try lowering myself down a level, and nowhere else to hide until I spontaneously started phasing through walls... so I did the only thing I could and ran upstairs.

The next level up had no portcullises, and was fairly simple- a series of medium size rooms much like the level below. I picked one close to the stairs and slipped inside... finding it full of sacks of turnips, in various stages of freshness and decomposition. I immediately through myself on the ground behind a pile of sacks and shut my eyes. There was no chance that my good luck with Filmor and his boss would repeat.

Soon enough, I could hear the rattling of bars and loud cursing and threatening in the goblin tongue. Shortly thereafter, I heard someone come running down the stairs from the level above me, and the sounds of a fight breaking out, couple with more cursing and screaming. I quietly vowed to never disparage the noble player class of Thief again and tried to breath a little quieter despite the heartbeat thundering in my ears.

It took what felt like an agonizingly long time, but eventually the screaming stopped, and a short while later I heard whoever it was stomping their way back up to the level above me. Only then did I relax, and come crawling out of my turnip-y hiding place. It didn't sound like a search was being conducted, so I decided that I must be in the clear,amd that girl must have held her tongue regarding me.

Ever so carefully, I crept downstairs once more, and to my surprise, there was a small crowd waiting for me on the other side to of the bars. That girl with the bushy hair was with a stocky older human man with a weatherbeaten complexion and a retreating fringe of grey hair, as well as a blade-slender and tall mist elf man with the characteristic onyx-black hair, with a grim expression and hollow, haunted eyes. Both men were wearing nothing but loincloths, and both showed signs of hunger and abuse. When they spotted me, the old man whispered to the girl, “Aye, I see you weren't making excuses. Why don't you go on finish your scrubbing, and I'll see what this is all about.” The girl nodded wordless and vanished inside the large room.

The three of us remaining regarded us for awhile.

“Uh, hello, I'm Theodore,” I whispered in the Common tongue, “I'm here to rescue you all.”

“Rescue?” the elf hissed incredulously, “Is this a joke? Cry pardon that I don't burst out in merriment.”

“Uh, yeah, sorry for my appearance,” I said, “But I was sneaking in here to try and find a way for my party to get in. Most of us are adventurers, hired by Ricard and Mia Parett of Pendleton to look into the mass disappearances happening in the area.”

“That crazy old man is finally good for something,” the old man muttered in wonderment, “How many of you are there? Good armed men?”

“Well, at least one good armed man, and a couple good armed woman, and we have a gnome, too,” I explained, “I'm the only one of us who knew how to swim, so I was sent ahead to investigate the goblins' defenses.”

“All-Father's balls,” the old man breathed, “You swam past those monsters? You have some stones, lad.”

I looked the elf in the eye, ignoring the old man's comment, “I am also accompanied by Sir Haseth of the Ravenwatch.”

The elf suddenly stepped forward, leaning in close to the bars. “Sir Haseth yet lives?” he said, so shocked he slipped back into elven, “Thank Cyona! Is he here?”

“My allies are concealed in the woods just west of here, watching the tower,” I explained, bringing the conversation back to Common, “How many of you are there? Are you all healthy? How many are fighters?”

“We've got some fifteen good lads, five women I suppose,” the old man said, “Most of us humans back here are children. None of us are fighters, really, but put a mattock in my hands and we'll see if I can't crush a gobbo's skull.”

“There are six of us left from the Ravenwatch,” the elf replied quickly, “They feed us just enough to keep us relatively strong for labour, cooking their meals and carrying their plunder, but we're all losing weight.”

I nodded. “Above us, is the whole floor given over to storage? Do you know if your weapons are up there, uh, Sir Elf?”

“Nievan,” the elf said, relaxing a little, “And, yes. Goblins can't bear the touch of lunargentum, so unless they're tossed out things into the sea, they should be somewhere up there, under lock and key. But more importantly, one of my countrymen is being held elsewhere...”

I didn't give him a chance to finish, though I noted that mithril in this universe was called   
lunargentum”, I guess. “Yes, I know about the princess,” I replied, “If she's held elsewhere, I'll get her, too.”

“W-wait, what Princess?” I heard the old man hiss, but he was cut short. All three of us froze, and I felt a cold knife of fear slice into my gut.

From the stairs down came the crash of steel on steel, and the characteristic sounds of battle.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (6847/10000)  
Hit Points: 6

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Magic Missile, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Stinking Cloud, Stinking Cloud 

Equipment: Belt Pouch (Small, 1)

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 3 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Backpack (with Voss): Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 3), Boots, Darts (30), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	27. Isekai Life & Battlement Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this, was kind of shook for a bit by the global situation.

I came running down the stairs to see Voss, Haseth and Yua on the landing area, just outside the exit to the battlements, battling a whole crowd of goblins. Already the ground around them was littered with goblin bodies and they didn't seem much the worse for it, but there was a huge crowd of goblins coming up the stairs, and dozens of them, armed with shortswords and clubs, streaming out of the rooms on this floor. Only the bright light angling in through the archway was preventing my allies from getting immediately mobbed, but that situation would not last forever.

“What the hell are you guys doing here!?” I shouted incredulously. Luckily, there weren't any goblins coming down from upstairs- yet- but there would be soon.

“Raszil! He's here!” Voss yelled when he saw me, before stabbing his spear right into the throat of one of the armed goblins.

“I can see that! You think he's going to get dressed in the middle of a melee?” I heard the gnome asked incredulously, before spotting him, standing outside the archway, holding my folded-up robes.

I scowled at the lack of regard for my question. I thought I had signalled for them to remain- now we're surrounded by an entire tribe of goblins.

“If you stay here on the landing, you're going to die,” I said heading for the archway, “Let me pass, then fall back to the battlements. Voss and Haseth to one side, Yua to the other!”

On way way through I tapped Yua on the shoulder, hard enough that she's certainly notice. She gave me a glance back, saw me slip onto the battlements, and followed, backing carefully away from the enemy. Haseth and Voss covered her withdrawl, before backing away themselves, with the human fighter taking a nasty slash across the belly from a particularly brave goblin.

We ended up on either side of the archway on the battlements, Voss and Haseth on one side, Yua, Razsil and I on the other. The principle here was simple- our enemies could only attack from one direction, and in so doing would subject themselves to the penalty for sunlight and the penalty from Yua's paladin aura both. That should debuff the goblins enough that we'd be really difficult to hit... but on a long enough timeline, the goblins would roll enough 20s to kill us all before we killed all the goblins, I think.

We needed to figure something else out, fast.

Raszil helpfully handed my my robe, while I stood behind Yua, watching her sweep off a goblin's head with an almost casual swipe of her greatsword. While I pulled on the robe, I shook my head at him. “Will you tell me what's going on?”

The gnome shrugged. “Your man there thought you signalled for us to stay, but then you went a tied a rope to let us up, so he wasn't sure what you wanted,” he explained, “The old woman and I thought you were still sneaking around, but Haseth wanted to go, and I guess once your dragon girl there figured out what we were talking about, she just went off without a word, and we had no choice but to follow her or abandon her.”

That shed some light on things. I supposed I should be glad they followed Yua- she certainly wouldn't have been able to defend herself on her own.

“Well, we need an escape plan, and fast,” I said as I cinched my belt into place, “And we can't descend, or they'll just cut the rope from here.”

Raszil glanced up, and nodded at the sloping side of the tower. “Maybe I could climb.”

I glanced up, at the next tier of battlements, another fifty feet above us. “I thought gnomes weren't great climbers.”

Razsil grinned at me. “Well, perhaps the Great God Suleyar gifted me with some of the secrets of how to make an ascent like that.”

I frowned, then rand over to where the rope was still tied in place, and pulled the loop straight up off the battlement without bothering to untie it and began gathering it up. “With a little luck we can surprise these bastards,” I told the little gnome as I handed him the hastily looped up bundle of rope, “So, don't use it all up getting there, I guess.”

Raszil threw the rope around one shoulder, and started testing the wall for handholds. “Well, I don't promise anything. After all we're going further up the tower full of evil goblins.”

I could think of anything to say in return. With a surprising level of agility for his small size, Raszil began scrambling up the sloping side of the tower. I was actually pretty impressed. You don't really think about what things like movement rate really mean until you see someone half your size effortlessly climb almost forty feet in a minute.

When I turned back to the fighters in our group, I noticed that our little green foes had finally stopped swarming through the archway at us, giving Voss, Haseth and Yua a chance to catch their breath and clean the blood from their weapons. It struck me as odd,considering the sheer number of bodies that they could throw at us, until I realized what was going on. They had failed a morale check. 

Before, in the field, even though the goblins were surprised, they were still very capable of hurting us because of the worgs. The presence of those worgs and the fact that they were very capable of hurting us, plus the lack of penalties due to bright lights and probably a few other bonuses like that. meant that their nerve could hold much longer in our counter-ambushes in the field. But now, here, we had surprised them while they were sleeping, were fighting them in direct sunlight, and other than Voss and maybe Yua taking a little ding here and there, were fighting them fairly effortlessly without taking much damage ourselves. Add all that together and it's a fairly meaty morale penalty.

But you only take a morale check under certain circumstances, which would mean....

“Voss!” I yelled, “Haseth! How many goblins have you all killed?”

Haseth looked at me like I was crazy, but Voss was a little more used to my tactical savvy. He took a moment to glance inside the archway, ducked back to just barely miss being struck by a thrown boot, and added everything up in head, before shouting back, “Not sure. Twenty, I think?”

Twenty. If you took into consideration that it was only the goblin warriors in the equation, and that the civilians were staying out of it, then probably the morale check that they failed was because they took at least 25% losses... meaning there were only about sixty more goblin warriors in the entire tower!

Guttural shout from within the tower that I couldn't really make out snapped me back to reality. “Okay, they're coming,” I said, “Get ready, this is our best shot at taking them out!”

I stepped past Yua and got my hands into position. The second one of the bugbears stepped out of the shadows, greatclub raised to strike me, I canted and let it rip.

Fire arced from my fingertips into the interior of the tower. I didn't have to worry about collateral damage or things catching fire here- except, perhaps, a few bonus goblins getting caught in the blast, but I sure as hell could count on softening up or even killing the bugbears.

Despite being wreathed in fire, his chain armor smouldering, the bugbear immedaitely in front of my seemed unfazed. With a great sweep of his arms, the massive two-handed club descended, and something grabbed the back of my robe and yanked me away. The giant wooden maul swiped uselessly in the air just inches from my face, and, while her foe was off balance, Yua launched herself forward, yelling a wordless battle cry, one-handing her greatsword straight through the bugbear's snarling mouth and out the back of its' skull, her other hand gripping me right between the shoulder blades.

With her scales glittering in the sunlight, Yua looked every inch the paladin, despite her mismatched armour. With casual ease, she kicked the body of the bugbear back into the tower, and I marvelled, wondering- exactly how strong was she?

The bugbears didn't stop coming, despite Yua's impressive display. Two more charged, one of which Haseth dispatched with an impressive pair of whirling sword blows, and the losing an arm and shoulder to Yua's brutal sword swing.

The bugbears that I was was previous so intimidated by fell like wheat before a thresher. It was the perfect storm of good tactical positioning, suicidal overconfidence of our enemies, and the strength and skill of my allies. Not one of us suffered a single blow.

If the goblins weren't afraid of us before, they had to be now.

“Wow, you guys... you were amazing,” was all I could say.

Voss flashed me a grin, and quipped, “Ah, they're not so tough without those wolf things,” but Haseth just looked grim, and Yua rounded on me, fixing me with a glare. I was a bit startled... guess she didn't appreciate me sticking my neck out like that, fire or no fire.

“What are we doing now?” Haseth asked irritably, “That went well enough, but we cannot hold here forever. Sooner or later they will realize that if enough goblins rush us, they can simply push us off the tower.”

I looked up. Raszil gave me a wave- he must have reached the next battlement some time ago, and had let down the rope. “We climb,” I said, simply, “You first, Haseth.”

The grizzled elf grunted, and sheathed his longsword before dashing across the mouth of the archway to reach the rope. 

“More climbing?” Voss complained with a groan.

“Yep, hopefully it will buy us time, before these goblins can get reorganized,” I said simply, hoping that none of the goblins could see what Haseth was doing from inside the tower. Once the elf had cleared about fifteen feet of rope, I nodded at Voss. “You're up, big guy.”

As Voss dashed towards me, I happened to look down at one of the bug bear corpses that happened to still be on the battlement and noticed something gleaming, stuck into his belt. I dashed forward and yanked it, get back behind cover before the goblins could act, smiling with satisfaction. Calliope's dagger. I slipped it safely back into it's sheathe.

I wasn't too certain what my plans were at this juncture. Climb up another four or five levels, using Stinking Cloud to cover our escape, and then move down the tower from there while the goblins were busy reorganizing, I suppose, but it was hardly a perfect plan.

“Yua,” I said, addressing the dragon girl in her own tongue. She glanced back at me momentarily, but kept her attention fixed on the archway. “You're going to be last up the rope, okay? We're going to try and get away from the goblins before they swarm us, and try to find some way to fight them piecemeal.”

She seemed to hesitate a moment. Then, “You were gone. I was worried for you.”

“Ah... I'm sorry,” I said, realizing that this whole time she must have had only a vague idea of what was going on. “I'll try to do be-” 

I was cut off by a loud, precipitous snap.

Voss was about twenty feet up in the air when, suddenly, the rope gave. I suppose it had gone through harder use today than I realized, and with his plate mail Voss must have weighed an awful lot. He landed on his back with painful sounding thud, coughing and gasping with the impact. Thankfully, he didn't seem to have hit his head or broken anything, but now the rope was ripped in two, with Haseth scrambling up the last few feet far above us. 

Yua gasped in surprised, and we both rushed to kneel next to him. “Gods... are you alright?” I asked, even as Voss rolled over onto his side and spat a wad of blood and mucus onto the stone.

“Yeah... I'll be okay,” he replied with a cough, “I think I broke a tooth....”

“He's all right,” I said for Yua, who nodded, and stood, resuming her guard stance at the archway.

“Rope frayed and snapped,” Voss gasped, “What're we... what're we gonna do now?”

I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, trying to think of something, anything that would get us out of this situation, but nothing came.

“I think there's nothing to it... but to fight our way through.”

Vos got up to his knees with a bitter laugh. “Ah, well, climbing sucks anyway. Did Haseth make it up?”

I glanced upwards, and saw that Raszil and Haseth had both disappeared from the battlements. Probably smart of them to do that, to hide and plan their next move. It's not like they could yell down anyway without giving away their position.

“Yeah, I think he's okay,” I replied, “These stupid goblins are a lot of trouble, huh?”

“How many left, do you figure?” Voss asked, “You were keeping track.”

“Sixty or so warriors,” I replied, “Maybe a few bosses and bodyguards.”

“Thirty for me, thirty for Yua,” he said, spiting another glob of blood, “No problem. Let's do this.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (7211/10000)  
Hit Points: 7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud 

Equipment: Belt Pouch (Small, 1)

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Backpack (with Voss): Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 3), Boots, Darts (30), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	28. Isekai Life & Dubious Rescue

Way back in my previous life, I remember having an intense argument with a DM once over the Stinking Cloud spell. Specifically, it's description in AD&D. The way that the spell is described is a little vague (is the gas heavier or lighter than air? Does it wrap around fortifications? Apparently that was for the DM to decide), but there is nothing in the actual description that specifies that a victim must breathe in the vapours for the nausea to have an effect, only that being within the cloud requires you to take a save vs poison. That seemed to imply (or at least I argued at the time) that the vapour was somehow absorbed through the skin or eyes. 

Unfortunately, as I was struggling to think of way out of this situation for us, I found myself wanting to revise my stance on the subject, but unfortunately Corgiel was nowhere in sight for me to make my argument, so I had to assume the strictest possible definition of the rules here. Hoepfully this would benefit me later if I ever had to use Stinking Cloud on something that couldn't breathe.

Well, if we all lived that long. So far this dungeon had been one narrowly averted crisis after another.

“Okay, so, new plan,” I told Yua, “I will cast a spell that should drive away the goblins, and when it wears off we run upstairs, and try to lose them so we can reconnect with Haseth and Raszil. Stairs are to the right of the archway, okay?”

“Understood,” she said with a determined face.

“Okay, Voss,” I said, switching back to common, and relayed the same orders. Jeez, that was going to tiresome fast.

“Yeah, got it,” he said, “I think I can handle that, your majesty,”

I gave him an odd look for a moment before I realized- the only people around right now were in the know on my true identity. It had been so long, that his deference felt weird.

“Right,” I said, drawing a few thick steams of skunk cabbage out of my component pouch, “Let's do this.”

I cast Stinking Cloud so that it's extreme edge was just inside the archway. The cloud was a cube (to add to the confusion of how it doesn't behave like a normal gas, but I digress) and I placed it so that it covered the top of the stairway going down, the bottom of the stairs going up, and a solid chunk of the floor we were currently on. I immediately heard the sounds of dozens of high-pitched gobbo voices coughing and retching. The beauty of Stinking Cloud is that it served as a great denial tactic- even if you passed your saving throw, you had to leave the cloud within one minute or roll your save again. It only lasted for three rounds at my current experience level, but the effects could potentially last for a few rounds longer if we got lucky.

Mostly though, I wanted the goblins to avoid the landing and thus, take longer catching up to us.

The cloud, once conjured, was a thick, billowing cloud of opaque yellow smoke, that reeked even for us standing outside it's area of effect. It's easy to forget that spells have an effect outside their AoE... my nose was just filled with this putrid stink that was somehow akin to both a rotten dumpster and the sulphur smell of a stink bomb. Not enough to make me nauseous but only just. I still gagged from time to time as we waited for the cloud to recede, as did my companions.

Not to imply that I just stood around. Instead, I ransacked the bodies of the bugbears. Chipped battle axes, a bronze broadsword, the one guy's greatclub... I gathered up as much of their weapons as I could carry.

Voss frowned at me. “Starting a collection or something, your highness?”

“The captured farmers and elves are on the level just above us,” I said simply, “No matter what happens, armed them cannot be a bad idea.”

That answer seemed to satisfy. “So, how do we get them out?” he asked.

I puffed in thought. “Maybe you and Yua can try lifting the portcullis? Failing that, we have to find the controls for the counterweight.”

“Well, we could try,” he said with a shrug, “But yeah, giving our only allies in this situation weapons is probably a good idea.”

So, we waited. Thankfully for us, my level was still lower enough that we didn't need more than a handful of minutes, and we were off.

What I wanted was for us to go into the tower through the archway, and immediately head for the the stairs up. What I got was that Voss and Yua both took the time to execute some goblins that had been caught in the cloud, who were retching and coughing on the ground. The entire inside of the tower, now we didn't have the glare of the afternoon sun keeping us from getting an idea of what was going on, was in pandemonium- goblins, warrior or not, seemed in a panic, scattering away from us.

Here I was, worried that these couple hundred goblins would be organized and selfless enough to swarm us and fling us off the tower, but right now the goblins were busy putting the “chaotic” in chaotic evil. Some of the “warriors” were busy looting the barracks, but most of them were fleeing downstairs to safety, away from those terrifying adventurers.

That made me worry a little bit- if all the goblins fled into the surrounding lands, they could cause ongoing problems for the people living here. But who knew? If the warriors start throwing their weight around, there could be a lot of warfare between splintered off goblin tribes and that sort of thing. But for that to happen, it made it all the more important that we handle the leaders that currently exist.

We moved upstairs, Voss leading the way, Yua coming up behind me. When we reached the next level landing, Nievan was clinging to the bars of the slave pen, waiting for my return. The old man was nowhere in sight, but there were a few of the other kidnap victims standing around, trying to get some idea of what was going on.

“You're back!” The elf exclaimed, unable to hide the anticipation in his voice, “What's going on? Where's Sir Haseth?”

“Upstairs somewhere,” I replied, “Uh, it's a long story, but I think we've killed most of the goblins' real forces at this point, we're going to try getting you out.”

At that point I was jostled aside by Yua. Normally, she was dutiful and unobtrusive, trying to stay on guard and out of the way at the same time. Now, she looked furious. Nievan stepped back, startled by her sudden fury.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she grasped the iron portcullis and tried to lift. The portcullis refused to budge, though her attempted caused a shower of rust flakes.

“Alright, that's not working,” I said, looking to Nievan, “How many strong men do you think you ca-”

I was cut off by a primal shout of rage coming from Yua. Having failed to lift the portcullis, she heaved on it, pulling it... outwards. The sturdy dwarven construction of the bars tried to resist her, but slowly began bending her way, before first one, then the other broke free from the framework of the gate with the shrieking snap of rusting metal.

She stepped back, sweat glittering on her brow, making the edges of her scales stand out. She tossed the rusty metal bars aside, panting with her exertion. Voss, the prisoners and I just goggled at her. Exactly how strong was she, really?

But now, there was a gap in the portcullis just wide enough for a broad-chested man to sidestep through, most of the prisoners should have no trouble getting out.

“Here,” I said, passing my bundle of weapons through the gap in the bars, “Make sure that as many people as possible get armed before stepping out. I don't know how we're getting you all out of here just yet, but you probably shouldn't stay there.”

Nievan grabbed the bundle and laid it out on the ground, taking the bronze sword for himself. “Me and mine can't leave yet, not until we've secured the princess,” he replied to me in Elven, “But yes, you should get the humans to safety.”

“Theodore, back up!” Voss yelled, pulled me back away from the bars. Up from downstairs came a swarm of goblins- finally, some of them had gotten organized enough to come up here and attempt resistance. 

People were just throwing me around left and right today.

Yua and Voss met the goblins just a few steps higher on the landing, and the fighting began in earnest. They didn't fight alone, however- from the protection of the bars, Nievan and his fellow prisoners began thrusting their weapons, killing few but making the assault more difficult.

I had, at this point, only two spells left prepared. I could throw darts, but Nievan had reminded me of something more important- actually making it so we all could get out of here.

“I'm going looking for more weapons!” I shouted, but I don't think Voss actually heard me, being absorbed in the advancing horde. It didn't look like too big of a deal for them, especially with help from the prisoners. With Yua's aura, those Goblins would have to roll like an eighteen or nineteen to even hit either of my allies.

Slipping back up the stairs to the storage rooms, praying that there wouldn't be any more goblins coming from upstairs... and there weren't, for now. I knew something was up there, from when I heard it go charging past when I had to hide behind all those turnips, but for now it was quiet.

I started trying doors. Most of the things in storage were very mundane- sacks of flour, bushels of apples, barrels of salt trout, all things that the people of Rhymer's Cross would be very grateful to receive back but were useless to me right now. Some piles of nicer-looking but probably valueless clothing. A pile of copper kettles, pots, and other such things. No sign of any sort of weapon storage for medium-sized creatures, no treasure, and no Elven princess. 

Nothing to do but to continue upwards.

Here, I encountered difficulties. As I reached the corner of the stairs, I could hear, ahead of me, voices speaking in guttural goblin.

“...Nothing past this point, but what're we going to do? There's only two of us.”

That's all I needed to hear. I walked around the corner and tossed darts at the first goblin I saw. It was one of the ones that went around wearing crude leather armor- one of the lieutenants or sergeants, I suspected- but after getting hit with three of my darts right in his neck he went down like a sack of bricks. 

I paid for my overconfidence, however. His friend took three darts but kept coming, raising a shout and charging me. He thrust with a wood-tipped spear, stabbing me in the abdomen. I manged to stumble back enough that I had room to launch a final volley of darts to finish him, but I was in bad shape after that blow... bad enough that I wondered how long it'd been since I cast Armor, as that might be done for as well. I would have to be exceedingly careful going forward... and have to find Raszil soon.

Nobody else was up on this new level. It was very much like the slave pen level, only without the portcullis- one large hallway with four doorways on either side.

I ducked through the doorway immediately to my right, and smiled. Judging from the pile of gleaming, silvery chainmail careless tossed into one corner, I had found the goblins' treasure room.

Other than the heap of elven mail, there was a large wooden chest, which I kicked experimentally as a crude way of checking for traps before I carefully opened it. It was untrapped, thankfully, and held a collection of ten longswords in black leather sheathes, almost identical to the one Haseth wore. I couldn't carry it all because of how awkward it would all be, but at least I knew where it was, now.

At the very bottom of the chest was a rotten old belt pouch. I rummaged around inside and came up with five very small gem stones, most of which had the milky look of low quality stones. I chuckled to myself. Was this really it? Goblin tribes were capable of having magical items, thousands of gold... did we really come this far and the only treasure was five measly stones? Plus the handfuls of silver the goblins carried with them, of course. I could almost hear the voice of Roadblock or Wild Bill telling me that helping people was the real treasure.

The very next room down the hall was some kind of crude bedroom. It stank of blood and body odour, and a musty pile of furs made a crude bed against one wall. There was an old dwarven armour stand, probably one of the few still intact, next to that, and the whole place was crowded with spare weapons of varying quality, but it was the sight of what stood in the far corner that hit me like a punch to the gut.

There was a rusty old anvil, and, on it, was a scrawny elf woman with black hair, chained down in the kind of position that made it obvious to what... use... she was being put to. She was naked, covered in bruises, with blood, lash marks, and other bodily fluids covering her butt and the back of her thighs. She didn't stir at all in response to my entrance, although I could hear the rattle and hiss of her laboured breathing.

I went over to the poor creature, and knelt, examining her face. Her lips were cracked and bloody, and she had to be thirsty and starving. She didn't even register me at first, seeming to be in some kind of daze, but when I cast my Knock spell and the chains fell off her body, she finally came up to awareness.

She gave a pathetic cough, and growled something unintelligible in a dry, rasping voice. I, gently as I could, pulled her off the anvil and laid her on the ground, head in my lap, so I could trickle a little water from my waterskin into her mouth.

From puffy, bloodshot eyes she regardedme, still half in a daze, and asked, “Who are you?”

“Don't worry, I'm a friend,” I said calmly, stroking her brittle hair. “I'm here to rescue you.”

She looked away from me, to stare off into space.

“Can you walk?” I asked, “Our friends are fighting downstairs, and we should get moving....”

I could finish my sentence. She weakly gripped the front of my robe and looked back up at me. Her eyes, I noted, though bloodshot, were beautiful pools of burnished orange.

“Kill me.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (7530/10000)  
Hit Points: 2/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Sleep  
(2nd Level): (none) 

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Backpack (with Moruca): Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	29. Isekai Life & Three Reunions

I was shaking my head on the way back to the treasure room. I had some serious issues with Corgiel at this point. This was supposed to be my “Heaven”, a paradise just for me. But, now, I was going to be a father twice over before the end of my first year of adventuring, something I was still uncertain about. And, on top of that, I had a suicidal rape victim to care for, and twice now I've rescued women who were captured and (basically) tortured... implying that the same could happen to Ashryn, Katriana, and Calliope, and our children.

Just... yikes.

It only took a little bit of time to search through the pile of discarded elven chainmail and get what I was looking for. Buried in there were a few of the black cloaks of the Ravenwatch, so I pulled one out for the elf girl. She's had a hard enough time that she deserves not to be paraded around naked in front of everyone.

Returning to the “bedroom”, I went to where I left the girl leaning up against one of the walls. Gently as I could, I helped her lean forward so I could wrap the cloak around her shoulders.

“Why didn't you kill me?” she asked hoarsely.

I frowned at her. “I'm not that kind of person,” I explained, “I'm not going to pretend I know what you went through, but I'm not going to kill you either.”

She closed her eyes. “I'm tainted.”

“I don't care,” I replied, “And anyone who does care is an asshole. Now come on, we're getting out of here.”

I helped her to her feet, and although she resisted a moment, she eventually let m hold her upright while we went limping out of the room. It was a struggle, as she was very weak and I wasn't all that much better off, between my low constitution and my wound. Even getting halfway down the hall to the stairs took some time... and that's all it took for the goblins to find us.

Eight goblins clad in leather and hides came tromping down the stairs from above, all well-armed with swords and axes, probably to try and attack Voss and Yua's defensive line from behind, provided they were both still alive. But as they were going, one happened to glance down the hall and noticed us, letting out a shout. The girl quivered against me in fear as they began closing in, snarling and laughing among themselves.

“Well, well... we had better make sure that the chief's toy gets put away properly, hadn't we boys?” snickered their leader, “Come on, then, take out the man and- ugh...”

There was a hard smacking sound, and the speaking goblin fell the the ground in a heap. Behind him, unnoticed by all of us, was a very satisfied looking Raszil, bloody mace in hand. He opened his mouth as is to make some quip, but was drowned by the sound of Haseth, charging down the stairs, yelling as battlecry of “For the Raven!”

The goblins were completely distracted from us by this turn of events. The rounded on their attackers and charged into the fray. For my part, I had the girl to take care of. I lead her over to lean once more against one of the walls, while I went through my pouches looking for more spell components.

“Don't let them take me again, please!” The girl begged, “Kill me first!”

“Relax, I've got this, nobody's going to take you,” I said, trying to reassuring as I grabbed a pinch of sand from one of my component pouches.

I chanted the words to the Hex of Lotus and Willow as I pointed, letting the sand spill out of my fingers. There were four goblins remaining upright after exchanging blows with Raszil and Haseth, two went down under the effects of the spell. After that, the fight was over quickly, as the remaining two gobbos proved no match for Haseth's blade.

“Princess!” The elf-knight cried in elven out as he rushed over to us. He knelt before the elf-girl and took her hand, pressing his forehead to it. I had been trying to avoid the assumption, but that confirmed it- the poor, abused girl was the Princess Kythaela that Haseth was looking for, the one whose safe return would get Calliope back.

“Haseth, I...” the princess winced, as she tried to hold back tears, “I-I was a fool....”

“No, I am sorry that I fled, your grace,” he murmured.

I felt a little tug on my arm, and looked over to see Raszil, bloodied mace in hand, next to me. “That blood yours, Theodore?” he asked, nodding at the stained hole in my robes.

I nodded. “Yeah, had a little run-in with some guards on my way up here,” I explained, as the gnome murmured words of prayer and delicately waved his free hand over my wound. I immediately felt better, as the prayer soothed the ache and closed up the wound.

“Well, your girl would be very cross with me if I brought you back all dinged up,” Raszil quipped as he patted me on the sleeve, before heading towards the two elves, “Sir Haseth, mind if I said a prayer for the poor lass's wounds?”

While Raszil healed the princess, Haseth came over and bowed to me. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Sir Theodore,” he said, rising, “I know our alliance is transactional, but truly, redeeming my honour would not have been possible without your help.”

“I'm just glad you two showed up when you did,” I said, suddenly embarrassed, “That was great timing.”

“Think nothing of it,” Raszil explained, having finished casting his spell, “We spotted that squad forming up on the floor above, and decided to follow them, hoping it would let us meet up with you. Lo and behold, here we are.”

“I'm grateful for it,” I replied.

“I don't understand,” Kythaela said, directing her questioning look at Haseth, “This human and this gnome... they are with you?”

“It's a bit of a long story,” I said, waving away her question, “We have to get moving. Voss, Yua, Sir Nievan and the other former slaves are fighting below, and they're going to need help. Haseth, come help me with the weapon and armour from the treasure room over there. Raszil, stay with the princess.”

Haseth looked uncomfortable leaving his mistress' side so soon, but came along obediently enough, and letting me pile his arms with the coats of Elven chainmail, before I gathered up all the swords. Then, we were off, heading downstairs to meet up with the others.

I had been a little worried that the situation had worsened below, but as it turns out, I shouldn't have worried. At some point the goblins had been driven back, and Voss and Yua were sitting on the stairs resting while Nievan and some of the other slaves overwatched the stairs.

Yua noticed me first and rose, but I brushed past her. First things first. “Sir Nievan, I have some things that belong to you.”

Our reunion was short but warm. Nievan and the remaining five members of the Ravenwatch were happy to be properly armed and armoured, and even happier to see their princess and Haseth was alive. For our group's part, Yua was visibly relieved to see me returned safe, and Vos gave Raszil a slap on the back to see him back. I was also glad to see them all, to finally have some stability in our situation, but I was beginning to put things together.

Once the greetings and back slapping was done, and Kythaela was lead away to rest for a spell in the women slave's room, I called a meeting with Voss, Raszil, Haseth, Nievan, and the old man, whose name turned out to be the thoroughly ridiculous Boss Gull. We stood in a circle in the slave pen area, leaving the protection of the stairs to Yua, a few of the farmers and a couple members of the Ravenwatch. Some of the farmers gathered around curiously, but none of them dared interrupt their rescuers.

“Okay, so,” I began, “Here is our situation, and someone let me know if they think I'm wrong about something.”

I laid everything out. Below us, somewhere in the tower, were literally hundreds of goblins. A few may have run off, but I suspected their mentality meant they would seek safety in numbers. There weren't any leaders down there trying to rally them, but we knew that there were still goblin raiders out in the Lakelands somewhere, who knew that we had stolen their boats. Those raiders still had worgs with them, and were probably racing back here even now. They would have at least one respected goblin among them, possibly even the chieftain of this tribe. There were also an unknown number of goblins still in the tower above us.

As for us, we had, in total, fifty-nine people on our side- Myself, Voss, Yua, Raszil, Haseth, Nievan, the other five members of the Ravenwatch, Kythaela, and then Boss Gull and another nineteen adult farmers, twenty-seven children, and out in the woods outside the tower was Moruca. We only had enough weapons to arm almost all of the adult farmers, provided the remaining Ravenwatch were okay with loaning out the swords of their fallen brethren to the farmers, but they were all untrained. A farmer might stand a chance against one goblin in hand-to-hand combat, but in this situation, we were vastly outnumbered.

Further, I was completely out of spells, and Raszil had one more healing spell and a single use of “Stay the Heathen”, which after a brief explanation from the gnome I took to be the spell I knew as “Hold Person”. A very useful tactical spell, as I recalled from the situation in Tresens, but staying a merely 1d4 heathens in this situation wasn't going to be tremendously useful.

If we somehow circumvented the hundreds of goblins still left in the tower, there were still goblin raiders out there somewhere. We didn't have enough boat space for everyone, so even if we got Princess Kythaela and, say, all the children out of harm's way on the boats, we would still have to travel to safety in Rhymer's Cross overland, heading right into the direction the goblin raiders would be returning from. The worgs would rip the farmers apart, we'd have almost no tactical assistance from spells, and even among those of us who were trained fighters, more than half of us were malnourished. In short, it would be a death march.

“That's why I'm suggesting we flip the script,” I concluded, “We take the tower, hold it, and beat them here.”

My companions' reactions were mixed. Haseth seemed thoughtful, but Nievan's eyes flew up in surprise. Voss look weary but was nodding his head along, while Raszil gave me a searching look. The Boss was completely outraged, though.

“What do you mean, take the tower?” he yelled, face red with rage, “You came all the way here to rescue us, and now you're saying we have to stay here!?”

“It's wiser than it sounds, elder,” Haseth said, trying to mollify the old farmer, “This tower is dwarven construction, and made to withstand siege. The walls are laced with murder holes, and we have a overabundance of chokepoints to choose from.”

“Plus the tower's food supply is one level above us, and the kitchen are here,” I added, “We could probably last a good week or so, and I'm not even suggesting we stay that long.”

“What are you suggesting, then?” the Boss spat back.

“Their chieftain or whoever is taking up the reins after the chieftain is going to need to regain the respect of the tribe as a whole,” I explained, “Else they're going to experience challenges to their power and desertion. They need to take back their centre of power, and that means fighting us. We can use that. Kill their leaders, kill their worgs, and we open up an opportunity to get out of here.”

“And what if we don't?” he retorted, “What is we all die here, or get sent back into slavery?”

“I haven't been a knight for long,” Voss replied cooly, “Just a few months ago I was just a commoner like you. Even still, I'd rather die on my feet with my spear in hand, fighting, then getting picked off by worgs as we flee through the woods.”

Every was quiet at that, as the implications of what Voss had said washed over us. We were badly outnumbered, almost out of spells, and almost out of options. If we turned out to be unlucky, we really would be choosing how to die.

I shook my head, trying to dismiss the dark thoughts that gathered there. “Alright, it's already late afternoon, and the way I see it, we have three things we have to do before dark. First of all, we have to take the floor below us, and prepare our defences there. That gives us access to the lower battlement, and has more room for us to maneuver. Second, we have to signal Moruca, our ally protecting our things out in the woods, and get her up here somehow. She's an amazing archer, plus we have additional spell components and supplies she can bring us. Third, we have to go room by room, floor by floor, and clear out every last goblin above us, so we can't be pincered.”

“We should find out where our spellbooks were stored, too,” Nievan explained, “Loudo and Elcair are mages as well as fighters, and it might be possible for them to get enough rest to recharge their arcane power.”

I nodded. “But before anyone recharges anything, we have a lot of work to do. Are you all ready for this?”

“Aye, you've gotten my charge back and restored the honour of the Ravenwatch,” Haseth said firmly, “If you say this is the path forward, then I'll trust you further still.”

“Ever loyal, ever vigilant,” Nievan added with a salute, “So long as you have the princess' best interests at heart, we shall serve.”

“Damn, Theodore,” Voss said, “You know I'm ready to go.”

“You're entertaining enough for now,” Raszil said with a grin.

“Fuck, fine,” Boss Gull said with a sad shake of his, “Don't make me regret this.”

We set our tasks, and who would be leading which team. Then we broke up to get organized and be ready to engage our various tasks. Haseth would lead the Ravenwatch and a few of the farmers in taking control of the floor below us, while Voss, Raszil, Yua and I would head upwards and clear the rest of the tower.

I was about to leave the group to explain the situation to Yua, when I noticed Princess Kythaela watching me from within the room set aside for the women's sleeping area, her expression blank and mysterious.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (7673/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): (none)  
(2nd Level): (none) 

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Backpack (with Moruca): Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	30. Isekai Life & Stairway Battle

Of course, before any of my plans could be executed, I had something to do.

I took Yua gently by the elbow and pulled her aside where where she was standing guard at the stairs. She appeared confused, but despite that had a stern expression. 

“Do you require something, my lord?” she asked with a certain chill in her voice.

I frowned. Why did she seem upset suddenly? “Okay, so, we have a new plan,” I said, “We're going to try and bait the goblins into attacking us so we can try to take out the enemies that have a chance of running us all down if we try to escape. Haseth and the elves are going to capture the floor below us, and drive the goblins further downstairs.” Hopefully they'd be able to do that, in their hungry and weakened state. “Now, us, Voss and Raszil are going upstairs to clear the rest of tower,” I finished explaining, “After which we'll be getting rest for the siege.”

“Understood,” was all she said, before turning back to her post.

I sighed to myself, and reached out to grab her elbow again. “Why are you upset?” I asked directly.

“I have no right to be upset, my lord,” she replied.

“But I can tell, you're acting all terse.”

“Forgive me, my lord, I must go back to my position.”

My brow furrowed. Were we really doing this? “Alright, you know what? You can help Haseth and the Ravenwatch take the floor below us, then.”

To be totally honest, it was something I thought of. Her paladin's aura would be of the most use when fighting a big horde of enemies, especially considering that the Ravenwatch seemed to use chainmail and shields exclusively for armour. The only problem was directing her when there was a language barrier... but I was also upset at her sudden attitude. I wanted to punish her, even though it was completely childish for me to do. But... at least I wasn't the only one being childish.

Her face twisted in a variety of expressions- an angry glare, and bitter frown, but she eventually snapped to attention and offered me a deep bow. “It will be as your say, my lord,” she replied, and by the time she straightened from her bow she had schooled her face to a stoic grimace.

I sighed again. I had no time for this. There was so much to do before night fell. I wasn't absolutely certain that a bunch of goblins riding worgs would be able to travel as far as we did on the river, but this world was based on AD&D, where that kind of dramatic convenience was common.

I headed back into the slave pen area and found Haseth, just wrapping up a discussion with the rest of the Ravenwatch, and got his attention.

“Yua will go with you on the attack on the floor below,” I told him.

He gave me a surprised look. “I thought she would be going with you? You two hardly seem to ever separate.”

I shrugged. “She projects a holy aura that can protect you from evil creatures. Your Ravenwatch are doughty fighters, I'm sure, but in this situation I'd rather you have the additional protection.”

Haseth nodded. “Very well, I will not aside additional assistance.”

By this time, the ex-slaves started circulating around with bowls of a hot, thick soup, crowded with vegetables. Without having to feed a few extra hundred goblins, they had plenty of vegetables and broth prepared, though I noted that the soup was conspicuously without meat despite the presence of something unidentifiable on a spit in the kitchen. I didn't want to ask questions, these people had gone through enough hardship without being asked to relive it just to satisfy my curiosity, and I'm not going to judge them on what they had to do in order to survive.

Hoping that the hot meal would make a difference, I took my bowl from the farm wife handing them out, and went to find Voss. Surprisingly, my knight was surrounded by a crowd of the older “children”- old enough to be on the cusp of adulthood, young enough not to be entirely entrusted on their own... yet. Included among them was the bushy-haired girl who had first spotted me earlier that day.

“...And then the hobgoblins brought them in- a pair of giant, killer man-eating apes.” As Voss paused for effect, a low “ooh” chorused from his audience. “I had to face one alone while it took all my allies to defeat the other. It was a vicious beast, but all beasts fear steel. Or, at least, they do after you poke them a few times.”

That wasn't exactly how I remembered it, but it was okay for Voss to puff himself up a little bit. It might even help morale.

Not wanting to interrupt storytime, I instead moved on to find Raszil. The gnome was sitting with his back to a wall, away from everyone else, already digging into his soup. I sat down by him, before finally helping myself to a sip of the soup itself. It wasn't much, but after so much bread and simple rations, tasted amazing.

Raszil didn't make any dinner conversation. He was definitely the oddest of my companions, except for the relatively unique Yua. For someone who was so vulgar, when we first met, he seemed more given to being quiet and unobtrusive in crowds. I supposed that was usual for a priest of the God of Secrets, however.

When I finished up my soup, he reached out a hand, offering to take my bowl. “We should get going soon,” he said, pushing himself on to his feet, “How did speaking to Yua go?”

I didn't really want to get into that, so I avoided the question. “I've changed my mind,” I replied, “She's going to help Haseth downstairs. It's just you, me and Voss going up.”

Raszil nodded thoughtfully for a moment, then looked back to me. “Are you out of your damn mind?”

“We can handle it,” I retorted, “They're just goblins, even if there are some tougher ones up there.”

I had been trying to figure out just what the deal was with that pack of goblins from earlier, and my working theory is that the goblin leaders and bodyguards lived way up the tower. Which mean that we had to deal with... twenty-ish more goblins? All of whom would be at the beefy end for goblins, with minimum 7 hp, but they didn't get at better at hitting things and with his magical shield, Voss' Armor Class was verging on “dragonlike”. With Raszil to scout and me to provide ranged support with my darts, we should be okay... provided the goblins didn't all come in one big pack and didn't start rolling 20s like crazy.

Raszil sighed and shook his head. “You're asking a lot of your man, you realize.”

“I know.” I'd have to make sure to reward him, somehow, later.

Of course, if you speak of the Devil, he will appear before you, so it was around that time that Voss, having finished his story (and soup) came over to us, glancing around. “Where's Yua?” he asked, “In the little dragons' room?”

It always surprised me how the people in this world knew what bathroom activities were, even though they never had to go. “She's not coming,” Raszil stated flatly, “Apparently Theodore thinks you can take on all the goblins yourself.”

“Maybe, well, probably, though I would have liked the help,” Voss said with a confident smile, but when he looked at me his expression changed to concern. “Is something wrong, Theodore? You seem....”

“Come on, let's go,” I said, levering myself up from the ground, “Let's try to get this done so I can have a decent amount of rest before tonight.”

My two companions shared a glance, but said nothing, falling into line as I led the way to the landing.

We began our slow, methodical journey up the tower. Raszil would wait on the landing, keeping a lookout, while Voss and I first searched all the storage rooms, and then did another pass over the rooms on the floor where I recovered Kythaela. The goblin corpses we left on that level were starting to stink, and I made a mental note of detailing someone to come up here and toss them into the sea.

The next floor was largely empty, except for another kind of communal barracks-room and another private room for some other VIG (very important goblin). This was also the level upon which was access to the third battlement. So Raszil and I took a quick stroll around the tower while Voss had a bit of break on the landing.

“Hey, see those?” Raszil said, pointing towards land.

I squinted, and shaded my eyes against the setting sun. The strip of field dividing the coastline from the trees immediately around the tower was dotted with little black objects that certainly weren't there before.

“Are they corpses?” I asked, “Moruca's been busy.”

“Seems so,” Raszil said with a nod, “Although I hope she's been mindful of our ammunition supplies.”

“Hope so.”

With that, we carried on up one more level.

At this point, the structure of the tower was deteriorating rapidly. The tilt in the floor was mostly the same, maybe just slightly steeper, but a big chunk of the floor was overhanging the ocean. It was starting to make me uneasy, and as we ascended I had to keep reminding myself that this tower has stood for centuries.

Partway up the stairs, Raszil, who was in front, held out an arm, motioning us all to stop. He then put a finger to his lips, calling for silence. It didn't take long to realize why- the dim sound of muffled, guttural voices croaking at one another came down the stairway.

Raszil slowly tiptoed up the stairs, disappearing around the corner. Voss couldn't move too quietly because of his armour, so instead I slipped down the stairs as quietly as I could to get behind him. Hopefully, Raszil would be able to scout around and get us some info, if not....

There was a shout of surprise, and the sound of running feet. Razsil came down the stairs fast, sprinting as fast as his little legs could, and as he tried to turn the corner got tangled up in himself and hit the ground hard. Voss and I stepped out of the way as the balls of flailing gnome came crashing down past us.

The first goblin came around, clad in leather armour and holding a shield, with a waraxe almost as tall as he was. Unluckily for him, I was ready, and launched a trio of darts right into his exposed face and neck. More came after him, the more elite goblins with better equipment than most of the hordes we've been seeing, but Voss calmly stepped up and ran the point of his spear through the first one's stomach, felling it, and then battle began in earnest

As predicted, as long as the goblins fought traditionally, they couldn't do much to harm Voss. The gobbos were used to fighting among each other or bullying farmers, or at least ambushing trained fighters in the dark. Unfortunately, with Voss blocking the stairway and me being on lower elevation than them all, I couldn't do much to help him. The entire stairs in front me was clashing steel and flailing green arms.

Suddenly, it all went black.

I don't mean that something hit me and I went unconscious. An unnatural darkness cloaked the area, rendering everything pitch dark. The goblins had a shaman, after all. I kind of wrote it off, because, hey, they already had worgs and bugbear allies, who many advantages could this tribe possibly have? But nonetheless, here we are. I couldn't even tell Voss to retreat, because we were on a staircase. I couldn't even imagine how hard it would be to walk backwards down a staircase while being attacked.

The goblins laughed in triumph as I stumbled my way back down, out of the area of effect of the unnatural darkness. I needed some way to get Voss out of that situation, but first I needed to be able to protect myself.

As I came out of the inky shadow, I was surprised to see three of the teenagers from the slave pens there, helping up a bruised and angry looking Raszil. Two of them were young boys armed with kitchen knives, and one was that bushy-haired girl, comically wielding a frying pan.

“Those little bastards!” Raszil was cursing, “Tricky little shits, aren't they? Out of my way!”

The gnome went charging past me, into the fray.

Not being able to do anything about the fight behind me for the moment, I instead chose to glare at the three kids. “What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded, “This is dangerous work, do you think we came and rescued you just so you can fling yourselves into danger like this?”

The two boys at least had the grace to look chastened, but the girl puffed herself up a bit and put her hands on her hips. “We want to help! We want to be knights, too! Like Sir Voss!”

I sighed and shook my head. “Get out of here, you're in danger!” I commanded, and then turned back towards the darkness, not sure what I should do, about the fight or the teenagers. And I had two kids of my own on the way. I was probably going to make for a walking disaster of a father.

It seemed to take forever, but after a few long minutes, from out of the shadows came Raszil's voice yelling, “That's me, you big idiot! They're all dead! Now stop swinging that damn laundry pole of yours!”

The duration of the darkness would be in the neighbourhood of half an hour, but I had no intention of giving the shaman that much time to plan his next trick for us... so I sidled over to one side of the stairwell, got on hands and knees and crawled upwards. My hands enocunter smelly, sticky goblin blood almost immediately, but it was what I had to do.

“Theodore, what are you doing?” Raszil called out, his gnomish eyesight penetrating the unnatural dark with ease.

“I'm going after that spellcaster,” I explained, “I don't want him to be able to set up some kind of ambush.”

I heard Voss curse and moan in pain. “Yeah, big guy here isn't going anywhere, we're both pretty beat up, are you sure you can handle this?”

I wasn't sure at all, but it had to be done. I just kept going up, not responding. When I felt the landing of the stairs, I turned to my left and kept ascending, and eventually came out of the darkness at the top of the stairs.

The whole floor was a ruin, with only the massive stone support columns full intact. Most of the walls were destroyed. The centre of the floor was a large ritual space, with a makeshift altar and weird goblin runes painted everywhere. In the centre of the ritual space was my target, a fat female goblin clad in filthy hides and wielding a staff and a bone dagger. Instead of the green skin of a normal goblin, hers was brown a gnarled as if she were carved from wood. The Barksin spell, giving her protection similar to my own Armour spell.

“You should not have come, pink-skin,” the shaman intoned in the rough goblin tongue, levelling her dagger at me. “Chturbo will have your soul.”

I wanted to say, lady, that isn't even the first time I've had that threat this year. Instead, I prayed I wasn't bringing only knives to a magic fight, and tossed some darts her way.

All three darts landed true, sticking deep into her chest. Dog bless that mighty Dexterity score I generated. The shaman hissed in response, and threw her dagger my way, but it deflected off my own magical protection. The shaman screamed in frustration, and came lurching towards me, arm outstretched.

I threw a trio more darts her way and ended her miserable life. Idiot, bring a touch spell like Cause Light Wounds to a dart fight.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (7752/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): (none)  
(2nd Level): (none) 

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Backpack (with Moruca): Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	31. Isekai Life & Harsh Advice

After dispatching the goblin shaman, I returned to the darkened stairwell.

“Alright, the shaman's taken care of,” I yelled into the inky blackness, “Do you need help getting out of there?”

“We're managing,” Voss replied in a pained voice. Eventually, with a clatter of plate, he, Raszil, and the bushy-haired teenage girl rose up out of the dark, Voss flanked by his two smaller companions supporting him.

Voss collapsed on the floor immediately as soon as he was in a lit area. He pointed at me. “Never again am I fighting five goblins in the pitch dark for you.”

I nodded. “Fair, I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen. What's the girl doing here?”

She put her hands on her hips, still carrying that cast iron pan. “The girl has a name, you know.”

Voss shrugged. “Said she wasn't running away, like those other lads. Raszil and I figured that with us beaten within an inch of our lives, we could use the assistance.”

I looked her over, and sighed. “Alright, what's your name?”

“Sorrel,” she replied sourly.

“Well, Sorrel, you're an idiot,” I said, matter of factly, “But if you're too dumb to run we may as well make some other use out of you. Do you know how to use a spear?”

“You stick the green bastards with the pointy bit, don't you?”

I shook my head, while Raszil and Voss shared a bit of a laugh. “Good enough, then, let's go finish this off. I think this was the goblins' last stand, but you never know what might be skulking around. Do you guy think you can hold together long enough for us to get back?”

“Yeah,” Voss said, taking off his helmet, “Going to probably need a little patching up later, though.”

“At least until I can pray for assistance,” Raszil added.

“Right, well,” I replied, “I think that's all the goblins, but I'm going to take this annoying girl who won't do what's best and just go away, just in case I need someone to push in front of the goblins.”

I could feel the intensity of Sorrel's glare, but Voss just laughed.

“Alright, then,” he said, “We'll be here when you get back.”

So we left Raszil and Voss to rest.

The first thing we found hunting around was a stack of four spellbooks kept in a sack behind the goblins' crude altar. Worth going over later, for sure, but given that they had uniform black leather covers, they were probably the spellbooks belonging to the Ravenwatch members and thus, not suitable for looting.

The remaining six floors of the tower were deserted, and it was easy to see why. The effect of the wind pushing the tower and, judging by the scorch marks on the very highest level, repeated lightning strikes had reduced most of the very top levels of the tower to a ruin which provided little shelter from the elements. It was still possible to ascend, because the stairs were built next to the supports, but the very top levels of the tower has collapsed in the centre and were mostly a large pile of rubble encircled by a wall.

It was hard to imagine a flock of griffons landing here to drop off the Ravenwatch for an attack, but it must have been more stable than it appeared. A testament to dwarven construction, I suppose.

Satisfied with my ascent, it was time to head back down, and see how the other half of the battle was doing.

Raszil and Voss were, thankfully, unmolested for the thirty minutes or so I was wandering around with the girl, and we came to the conclusion that our mission was successful- the upper levels of the tower were now goblin-free. Making Sorrel carry the sack of spellbooks and Voss' shield, we began to descend, eager for news on how Haseth and Yua's battle went taking back the floor below us.

We could tell immediately that it hadn't gone well- three of the Ravenwatch members were sitting on the landing outside the slave pens, being bandaged up by the human farmers, and they looked in a sorry state.

“Where's Haseth?” I asked the closest member of the Ravenwatch.

“Sir Haseth is coordinating the defence from downstairs,” he replied, shaking his head, “We fought hard enough for it, so he's trying to make sure we keep it.”

That made me frown. Before I could reply, Voss interjected, asking “Did we lose anyone?”

“No, but just barely,” the Ravenwatch knight complained bitterly, “The goblins that ended up cut off on the floor once we took the landing fought like trapped rats. It was brutal. That girl with the greatsword refused to budge from the front lines, and damn near died for it.”

“But she didn't die, right?” I asked, a sour feeling growing in the pit of my stomach.

“Yeah, but it was close.”

I barely registered what he had said as I hurried by. I knew that if something terrible had happened to Yua, I'd never forgive myself. If what he said was true, Yua was on her last hit point or two, but it was hard to narrow down how much missing HP translated into wounds.

On the floor below, heavy cast iron pots had been moved onto the landing in front of the stairs downward, and some of the former slaves busied themselves with hauling limp green corpses out onto the battlement and casting them into the sea. Yua and a couple more wounded members of the Ravenwatch sat with their backs against the wall, being tended to by people wrapping up their various wounds and injuries.

I knelt next to Yua. “Are you alright?” I asked, in her own language, “I heard you were badly hurt, and came as soon as I could.”

She was hurt, badly. Her mismatched armour was rent in various places, and you could see where blood had been dripping from the joins in her armour. But, she was alive, not even unconscious. 

Hit points are weird that way.

At first it seemed that Yua was happy to see me, her face brightened despite the pain, and her face began to growi a smile. Then, as if remembering she was mad at me, her expression hardened and she looked away. “I've done as you asked, my lord,” she said, “I await your next instruction.”

I realized I had subconsciously reached for Yua, and let my arm drop. “It looks like you're being taken care of,” I replied flatly, “So rest up, for now, we'll need you again soon.”

She didn't reply, instead choosing to stare off into the corner of the room, eyes fixed.

From there I wasn't sure what to do, so I went to join Haseth outside on the battlements. Fifty feet below, on the ground, a handful of armed farmers kept watch while a pair of other former slaves hauled up a pair of packs tied to a rope. Our packs- as in, the stuff that my adventuring party brought with us to the tower.

“Where's Moruca?” I asked, curious as to where the old woman had gotten to.

“Resting,” Haseth replied, “She is not young for a human, and did not enjoy being hauled up like a sack of potatoes when she couldn't ascend on her own. I take it your mission clearing out the rest of the tower went well?”

“Yes, although Voss and Raszil are badly injured.”

Haseth nodded grimly. “If they come at us tonight, we will be pressed hard.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” I replied, glumly, “Could use one or two of your griffons right about now.”

“That would be nice,” Haseth agreed, “I've had a few thoughts about defending ourselves that we can put into practice, though. Once we have all our people back up here, we will bring now some of the waste stone from above, and set fires to boiling seawater. We will do what we can.”

I wondered about how long our supply of wood would last, in case we ended up stuck here for awhile. I didn't think the goblins would have patience for a siege, especially if the chieftain needed to assert control, but it was certainly possible that we managed to remove all threats to the chieftain's power and he wouldn't have to assert his authority.

Either way it could wait. I hadn't realized until I finally just stopped for a second how bone tired I was. I gave Haseth a pat on the arm and murmured my thanks to him, and headed back upstairs. It was getting very close to sunset, and while I made it through the day mostly unscathed, I had accomplished a lot. My knees had started aching from all the ascending and descending of stairs and climbing that I had done, and I just wanted to stop somewhere.

I climbed up to the level where I had found Princess Kythaela, and slipped into the “treasure room”. It was distant enough from the levels below that I might be able to get some sleep in, near enough to the stairs that I might here someone coming looking for me, and remote enough that I didn't have to deal with people anymore.

Or so I thought. No sooner had I found some rags to pile together in a crude pillow, then Raszil sauntered in, crouching against the wall across from me.

“We need to talk,” was all he said as greetings.

“Can't it wait?” I said as I struggled to suppress a yawn, “I'm dead tired. I've swam through the ocean, had to sneak past ghouls, bugbears, and goblins, running up and down these stairs all day....”

“You don't have to complain about stairs to me,” he replied, “Even if this is dwarven construction, my stubby little legs still have trouble... Anyway, this is important, something I think you need to hear.”

“Alright, fine,” I said, waving a hand in his direction, “Go ahead, but if I fall asleep from your talking, don't blame me.”

“Theodore, you're a shit leader.”

I frowned. “Thanks for that. It's not like we've gotten through all this alive, right?”

Raszil snorted. “I'm not talking about that. You're a brilliant tactician. You're courageous and knowledgeable, and you have a very good grasp of how to apply different people's talents and make the best of bad situations. But being a leader, being someone that other people want to follow, you're terrible at that.”

I rolled over so I was looking at the gnome. “Is this really the best time for this?”

“The sooner you realize the better,” he replied easily, “Tell me, why do you think Sir Voss follows your lead and not the other way around? He's the knight, after all.”

I couldn't say it was because he was my knight in particular, and I gave him that title. “Maybe it's because of that tactical brilliance you mentioned.”

“That plays a part, certainly,” Raszil allowed, “But have you thought of what his desires are? What motivates him? Tactical knowledge and cunning are good reasons to trust a commander, but do you know why he follows you into danger instead of doing anything else?”

I opened my mouth to answer, and then hesitated. Voss had said he wanted to be a knight, but now he was a knight of sorts... at least, he could claim to be a hedge knight. I had promised him even more when I came into my kingdom... but was he really motivated by power and prestige?

We've been through some tough times, but if the going really got tough- or he got a better offer- would Voss really choose to stick with me and Katriana? And what about Enna and Yua? Bekker said something to the effect that he wanted to serve a new generation of adventurers to make up for serving the murderous son of his former lord, but I clearly had little idea what was going through Yua's head. Enna was grateful for being lifted out of her criminal class obscurity, but would that last? I couldn't even be completely certain about Calliope's eventual loyalty, and things had been shaky for awhile after our encounter with the druids.

My mouth suddenly dry, I swallowed. “Well, what should I do about it?”

“Just this- ask your people what they want, and make their cause yours as much as your cause is theirs,” he explained gently, “It's not enough to keep people out of danger. If you want them to believe in you, you need to work for them, too.”

For a long moment neither of us spoke, while I processed this information.

“Hey, Raszil?”

“Yes?”

“Why do you follow me, then?”

The gnome grinned. “Being bored of farmers isn't enough?”

I yawned again, wide enough that I felt a twinge in my jaw. “You tell me, and I want an honest answer.”

“Theodore, the last thing you should expect from a priest of secrets is an honest answer.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (7783/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): (none)  
(2nd Level): (none) 

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems, Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	32. Isekai Life & Quiet Moment

When I awoke, it was by bright red rays of dawn sunlight angling into the treasure room from an arrow slit. It just so happened, my face was lying directly in the path of the beam. I shielded myself with my hands as I blinked the sleep from my eyes, and rolled over to face the darker half of the room. Awareness gradually came back to me, and I realized I could hear the soft sounds of snoring. Raszil was still sitting in place across from me, now with his chin resting on his chest as he slept.

I also noticed that someone had thoughtfully dropped off our packs just inside the doorway. As quietly as I could, I scrambled across the floor and carefully withdrew my spellbook. If I wasn't dead, and it was dawn, that meant we had all survived the first night of the siege, and if I was to be any use going forward I'd have to memorize a new host of spells. And with seventy minutes' worth of spell memorization ahead of me, there was no time to waste.

I mainly kept to what were quickly becoming my “classics”, spells that would let me control the battlefield or deliver lots of damage. Magic Missile in case I needed to damage a worg without hurting my allies, also Knock because one spell slot per level was exclusively for my school, so I had no choice in that regard.

As I studied, my thoughts drifted to what Raszil had said the night previous, about me not knowing what my followers really wanted... and to Calliope's spellbook. Once I had my spells for the day memorized, I lifted the more slender tome gently out of my pack, and flipped through until the beginning of the ESP spell. Would it be okay, to go around sensing the thoughts of my own followers, as a way to better lead them? Could I manage to keep my knowledge of that spell secret, if I did? I didn't have pen and ink ready at the moment, but with a bit of privacy it'd be easy to transcribe the spell and just never mention it.

I slipped both books away. The issue would have to wait, for now. We were in a siege, and there wouldn't be any point to worrying about this if we all died horribly.

In the time that I was concentrating on spellbooks, Raszil had slipped out, probably to do his own prayers and ask for his spells the day. Hopefully, healing spells- we needed them, badly, with Voss, Yua, and Raszil himself almost out of action. But even before we allocated our small amount of magical healing, I needed to know what the situation was, so I headed downstairs to figure out what the situation was.

Now that they were no longer boxed up in the one room, it seems that the former slaves of the goblins were taking the time to enjoy stretching their legs- Not only were there packs of farmers murmuring quietly to one another hanging out in the hall when I left the treasure room, the stairs were busy with people going up, down, or even just sitting on the steps.

I almost tripped over one of the latter, an old woman helping herself to some kind of soup or stew, and had to dance quickly down a few steps to keep my balance. Behind me, I heard the old woman given a throaty chuckle. “Didn't know you were the acrobatic type, boy.”

“I'm not,” I replied, turning to face Moruca. “You know it's dangerous to get in people's way when they're climbing stairs.”

Although it occurred to me that, as a bunch of country folk, these people weren't particularly practised in stairway etiquette.

The old woman grunted at me in turn, having another spoonful of soup. “These slaves have been eating better'n we have. I would die if I had to have another slice of sawdust bread.”

“I don't know if many of them would agree with you,” I replied, thinking of the mystery meat that was in the kitchen yesterday.

The old woman shrugged. “Being driven to rat once in your lifetime is good for you. Builds character. Makes you appreciate what hunger really feels like.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I guess so. Sorry I didn't check on you before I fell asleep last night.”

Moruca chuckled. “Somehow I've made it over sixty years without being tucked in by you, pretty sure I don't need it.”

“Fair enough. Do you know if the goblins attacked last night?”

“Aye,” she replied, around another mouthful of stew, “They charged us a couple times, but couldn't get ''round the barricade. Managed to spear a half-dozen or so through the murder holes. Got a few more when they retreated, but we had no light to see by when they retreated.”

“Retreated?” I asked, “You mean, back downstairs?”

The old woman shook her head. “In wee hours, there was a baying of wolves from the tree line. Their raiders comin' back, and somehow they figgered out what was going on in here. So they set their wolf buddies to howling, and all the goblins came streaming out of the tower. Those of us on guard at the battlements chucked some rocks and boiling water down on 'em. Only about twenty or so bodies left out in the mornin'.”

I rubbed my chin, and then had to dodge a cluster of laughing children going running down the stairs. “Where did they go?”

“Coins to cabbages that they're waiting inside the treeline, making ready to push on us tonight,” Moruca replied, toying with her spoon idly. “Find out real fast if we go huntin'.”

“We're not in a great position to sortie, while our best fighters almost on their knees,” I said thoughtfully, “We need to conserve our strength.”

“Aye, that tall dark elf-man Haseth told me your plan,” Moruca replied, “It's a good plan. Needs more dead goblins, though. Not sure about running off just because their wolves are dead.”

“Well, ideally, I'd like to nail the chieftain, too.”

The old woman chuckled again. “Nail him. I like that word. Nail him to the side of the tower and let the wind and rain and hunger do for him.”

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” I replied, suddenly uncomfortable. “I'm, uh, going to check on the others.”

I backed carefully away from Moruca and heading down the stairs still further, while the old woman chuckled at my sudden departure. “Hope you can get be some nails, Theodore, some good long ones!” she teased as I fled.

By then my stomach realized exactly what time it was. I slipped through the bent bars into the kitchen area, and got in queue for the vegetable stew that some of the ex-slaves were handing out. Once I had the hot bowl steaming in my hand, feeling a little like being in high school all over again, I glanced around for someone to sit with. I spotted Nievan and a few of the Ravenswatch sitting with Princess Kythaela at the far end of the room, and headed over there.

“Ah, Sir Theodore,” Nievan said with a nod as I sat cross-legged across from the princess, “We were just discussing you and your, ah....”

“Team,” I suggested, with a shrug, “Team is fine. Only good things I hope?”

“Actually, Her Grace was concerned about the level of disorganization among the former human slaves,” said one of the other Ravenwatch...men? “This is a tactical and logistical liability.”

“Yeah, you're right,” I replied between sips of the stew- it was a thin but salty, earthy mushroom broth, but it hit the spot just fine. “I'll talk to that old guy, Boss Gull. We should be prepared to leave as soon as possible once we have our opening, anyway, and these farmers wandering around doing whatever will be a problem when the goblins attack.”

A sudden thought occurred to me. “You said two of your Ravenwatch could use magic, correct?” I mentioned, “Do either of the know how that spell... I don't know it's name in Elven, but it creates the magical bolt that will always hit it's target?”

It was subtle, but Nievan's eyes darted in the direct of the princess for a moment before he replied. “Yes, most of our mages know that spell. I believe they may even had prepared it today. Why do you ask?”

“The goblin leader may be wise enough to actually besiege us than attempt an assault,” I explained, “So if that's the case, we may need to cut off the head, and then let one of their lieutenants make the stupid mistake-”

“Excuse me,” Princess Kythaela said suddenly, rising to her feet and striding off to one of the side rooms. Silently the two Ravenwatch other than Nievan rose and followed her obediently.

The two of us remaining had a long, awkward pause. Then, Neivan spoke, “Please forgive Her Grace, her time after being captured has been difficult on her.”

“Of course,” I replied, a little bewildered, “Can I ask what happened? I'm still a little foggy on the details of how you all came to be here.”

It was Nievan's turn to frown. “It's a long story... are you sure that you can time?”

“We're under siege, aren't we?” I shrugged, “Besides, the details might be important.”

Nievan took a deep breath, steeling himself to share the tale.

“His Grace the Mist King and the royal court learned of what was happening in what humans called the Lakelands some weeks ago,” he began, “That, well, it was only two back then, but two human villages had vanished. Most of the Mist King's ministers, as well as Prince Alwyn, His Grace's heir, argued that human problems were no real concern of ours, that we should look the other way. The minority of the court argued for some kind of investigation, or intervention, but they were supported by Princess Kythaela and the middle child, Prince Falaen. In the end, His Grace sided with the non-interventionists, and let it be.

“Then, we received word about the third village. The Princess was so incensed by her father's lack of action while people suffered, she ordered her bodyguards to accompany her while she did something about it.”

“That's you guys? The Ravenwatch?” I asked.

“The Ravenwatch serves the entire royal family,” Nievan explained, “We are the guardians of the entire royal family, but Sir Haseth and the rest of us here are from the unit that was assigned to protect Princess Kythaela. There were twenty of us, but now... well, we are sworn to protect Princess Kythaela, and Princess Kythaela was going to help the humans. So, too, must we go.

“With the amount of ground we were able to cover with our griffon mounts, we were able to identify the goblin threat and track down their source to this tower easily. We then made a plan- fly up under cover of darkness, to hide the griffons from their sentries, land two at a time on the roof, and then fight through the tower.”

I nodded. Maybe against normal enemies that would be a smart plan, but goblins were nocturnal and could see fine in the dark. They were also pitting twenty elves against hundreds of goblins, dozens of warg, the bugbears, and everything. We had the advantage of slowly whittling away goblin raiding parties for days, this assault Nievan described did not.

“Once they realized what was happening, the goblins and their allies came against us, hard. We were badly outnumbered. We would fight to the bitter end- we weren't stupid- but many of us were overwhelmed by charging goblins or brought to the brink of death and then healed by their shaman. Those of us who didn't die or escape, were trapped here. Don't misunderstand me, we fought well, extremely well, but the entire situation was a mistake.

“I and the other members of the Ravenwatch will help you to get get these humans away from here, to exterminate the goblins, and to rescue Her Grace the princess. You saved us from the very brink of despair, so we owe you that much.”

I nodded. “Sorry if this brought up any bad memories.”

The elf sighed. “Worry not. I hope knowing all the relevant details helps you. If you'll excuse me, I should check in on my charge. Please take the time to speak to Boss Gull and make your preparations for tonight. It seems like we have all day, but trust me when I say that there just never seems to be quite enough time to go around.”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (7783/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Magic Missile, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems, Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 3 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 3 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	33. Isekai Life & Battle of the Tower

They came for us that night.

I was up and waiting for them. It had taken all afternoon to get the farmers organized into something resembling readiness- which ones were going to be part of the defence, which ones were in charge of cataloguing our food reserves and get as much of it packed and ready to go as possible, and which ones were to be in charge of wrangling the children during the battle. Everyone had an opinion about how things should be handled, and weren't afraid to share them whenever I stopped to take a breath.

I was standing guard on the battlements with Loudo and Elcair, the two fighter/mages in the Ravenwatch, as well as Moruca and Voss. Yua, Raszil, Haseth, Nievan and the majority of the Ravenwatch were on the landing inside the tower, prepared for the goblin's assault up the stairs. Princess Kythaela was... somewhere. Given the way that the Ravenwatch sorted their priorities, I wouldn't be surprised to find out they had a backup defensive position somewhere with a couple extra guards. I didn't try and figure it out because I had other things to occupy me.

I was probably close to midnight- hard to tell, without sun or, well, clocks- when the goblins emerged from the trees, forming a loose semi-circle around the tower. For the past hour or two, we had heard someone yelling in the woods, as if giving some kind of speech. The chieftain was rousing up his forces, convincing them to come out in a show of force. And they did- hundreds of them, far more than we knew he had warriors. He had all the “civilian” goblins out as well, just to intimidate us.

I had word passed around that afternoon that something like this would be bound to happen. We had the strategic advantage, but they had numbers, so they'd probably try to come out in force to try and break our morale. Hopefully, knowing the trick would help protect some of the farmers from it.

One of the goblins mounted on a warg rode forward, ahead of the larger swarm. He was the only one to get within bowshot, but when Moruca drew back her bowstring, I motioned at her to wait.

The goblin chieftain wasn't the only one capable of manipulating enemy morale, after all.

“The Mighty Chieftain Warq,” it called out in a rasping voice, speaking common, “Has decided to grant you mercy, in exchange for our tower. Throw down your weapons and leave, and we will not hurt you.”

Moruca chuckled. “Liar. He think we'll walk unarmed into a crowd of goblins?” she muttered.

I motioned with my hand and chanted. Two darts of pure magical energy flew from my hand, arcing down and slamming into the goblin, blasting him off his mount. It was not the most efficient use of that spell- I had wanted to snipe out the chieftain- but for the chieftain to get close enough, they needed to be angry enough to assault the tower. So, killing his herald in a big, flashy way was necessary.

The effect was immediate. The goblin horde immediately began howling for blood, and surging forward towards the tower. Behind their lines, I could see the wargs running back and forth like sheepdogs, herding the horde forward. I grimaced. Part of my hope was that the wargs would be on the front lines of the attack, but, no, it looks like the chieftain was canny enough to use his greatest advantage- his numbers.

I'd have to be careful fighting this guy.

Moruca and the two Ravenwatch elves started letting loose, hardly able to miss for her target rich environment. When the goblins got close enough, me and the handful of other farmers there started heaving down chunks of rubble at them. Not the most effective weapons, but we had a lot of nice, heavy rocks to toss down at them, and even just damaging a goblin and making it easier for the other defenders was good enough.

But there were a lot of goblins. Below us, the crude ramp of piled stone swarmed with black shapes, bottle-necked at the entrance to the tower. That's when I gave the signal, and four burly farmer upended a steaming pot of boiling seawater down onto the swarm. The screams that followed were chilling, but they were out for blood.

Inside, I knew, the first goblins would be encountering our next line of defence, a series of simple rope traps intended to trip them on their way up the stairs. Peevish and maybe a little juvenile, but every little bit to break their moment, and possibly even cause damage, helped.

Shortly after that, I could see Moruca and the elves raise their bows, aiming a little higher with their arrows. The wargs, our primary target, were finally close enough for them to shoot. I saw one of the huge grey wolves go down at the edges of the crowd. Maybe we would have a chance to kill enough of their leaders that the goblins would break and run.

My life became simple. Grab a hefty bit of rubble, raise my arm, and launch into the crowd of goblins. Over and over, lift, aim, launch, lift, aim, launch. It didn't take long before my arm began to ache. The hair was filled with the sound of rock hitting flesh, the howl of the wargs and goblins, the sizzle of boiling seawater splashing down.

“I'm dry,” Moruca said, breaking me out of my combat fugue.

I looked up in time to see one of the Ravenwatch loose his last arrow, bringing down a warg on the periphery of the swarm. The crowd pressed up against the tower was much smaller than before. The majority of the goblins must be inside the tower, and I realized I could here the sounds of combat within. All three of our caudrons of boiling seawater have been expended, and even our rubble piles were significantly smaller... but there were only three wargs still standing outside the tower, their riders glowering at us even as the mounts snapped and barked at the crowd to press on.

“Good job,” I said, whistling my approval, “You did really well. I think we're going to win this.”

The two elves of the Ravenwatch saluted, but Moruca just gave me a bitter smile. “Permission to use our spells offensively, sir?” one of the Ravenwatch- Loudo, I think- asked me.

“Granted,” I replied, nodding at the wargs, “You know what to do. Moruca, why don't you get our little friend ready? I think it's time we paid evil unto evil.”

Moruca gave me an evil smile, and went around to the rear of the tower. Loudo and Elcair gestured and chanted the words of magic, sending a pair of magic missiles streaking towards one of the mounted goblins, the one in the centre of the trio, knocking the creature off it's mount. I guess they didn't roll very high for damage, because the goblin stood and shook it's fist at us. The third magic missile finally killed it. Hopefully that was the chieftain, but only time would tell.

Moruca returned, with a quartet of farmer carrying a heavily bound cauldron, capped with a crude lid made of one of the Ravenwatch's shields. Boss Gull, one of the cauldron bearers, directed the effort, muttering “easy, easy...” as they lowered the cauldron into place, balanced precariously on the edge of the battlement. I drew Calliope's dagger, and with Moruca's help, we sliced through several of the ropes tying the lid in place, before Boss Gull and the farmers tilted the thing over and down into the crowd of goblins.

When they were slaves, the goblins' captives had been granted the use of four big cauldrons to make the stews and gruels that fed the whole tower, with the captives themselves having to make do with whatever scraps were left over after. After the farmers had served our last meal of the day, we used a system of ropes to lower each cauldron down and scoop up big pots of seawater to help us in our defence. One of the pot held a nasty surprise- an angry lacedon that, thankfully, made it's ire known well before we got the pot up to the battlement. It took some doing, but with Raszil's help using his power to turn undead, we managed to secure it.

Now, it flopped out of it's iron prison like a dead fish, scatter the goblins before it. It moved ungainly- it was an aquatic creature, after all- but was able to latch onto one of the goblins and begin feasting. One goblin warrior that moved in to fight it got it's throat slashed open by an backhanded strike of the ghoul's claws.

It's presence was having an effect... but not enough of one. I suppose it made sense- these goblins were fighting for their home- but they kept stubbornly coming on.

I decided to help the lacedon out. I reached into one of my component pouch for a pinch of sand, and canted. A half dozen goblins surrounding the ghoul keeled over, sound asleep. But I didn't have long to focus on what was going on below, as my attention was taken off the battlefield by an angry shout from inside the tower.

I ran for the archway, one step behind Elcair. When we arrived at the entrance to the tower, I could see Sorrel dragging one of the Ravenwatch away from the landing, as he desperately tried to stop the blood pouring from a gash in his neck. Yua and Voss were barely holding back the howling crowd of goblins pouring up the stairs. Some had gotten some lucky hits in, I guess. Now that the front line had started to cave, the goblins were throwing themselves forward with renewed frenzy.

Stepping up next to Yua, I gestured and chanted words of magic, hosing a spray of magical fire over the densely packed enemies crowding up the stairs. Goblins burned and died, but still they came, clambering over the scorched bodies of their former comrades to get to us.

I was seriously beginning to have complaints about the morale system in this game!

Yua gently pushed me back as she resumed her stance, and, not having any further spells of use in this situation, I stepped back to make room for Nievan, joining the fray. The situation seemed back under control, relatively speaking.

“Thank you, Sir Theodore,” Haseth told me as he stepped back from the front to take a quick breath. “Please return to you post, in command of the battlements. We can still hold.”

I gave him a brief nod and headed back outside.

Here, the situation was mostly unchanged. Farmers still launched rocks down into the goblins, though targets outside of the tower were a little less dense, and the lacedon still flopped around, attacking goblin after goblin as it sought living meat.

“Theodore, look,” Moruca said as she noticed my approach, and pointed.

The warg-mounted goblins were drawing closer, forcing their way through the crowd, heading towards the lacedon. I'm not sure why they had a sudden interest in fighting the ghoul, but I'll take it.

“Is there anything we can hit them with?” I asked, looking around, “We're out of arrows, and I don't think a stone can reach that far.”

Moruca frowned. “You don't have any fancy magic spells?”

“Maybe...” Stinking Cloud could work, theoretically. “They just need to pull closer.”

Pull closer they did, full on charging the lacedon. The ghoul saw them coming, and eagerly ran to meet their charge, only to have a warg's jaws clamp around it's arm and shake it like a rag doll.

Moruca hefted her hatchet, and let fly. It seemed to arc almost gracefully down, before planting itself in the warg rider's body with a spray of blood. The rider howled in pain, as I chanted and cast, my hand crunching down on a handful of skunk cabbage.

Because of the limitation of range, I could only barely catch the area of the lacedon with one edge of the area of effect of the cloud, the rest hung in the air like a noxious, roiling column. The thick yellow gas obscured the battle, but hopefully the lacedon was immune.

While the battle raged on around us, Moruca and I stood at the edge of the battlement, staring, waiting to see if that billowing cloud of vapour would disperse. I hardly noticed that, without the wargs and their leaders to drive them forward, in clumps the goblins outside the tower had started to break and flee into the woods. Every minute stretched on like a century, to see if my final gambit had paid off.

When the cloud dispersed, there were only a trio of warg corpses, on a battlefield strewn with dead goblins already, so there was no way to tell if the dead nearby were fresh or not. The lacedon busied itself with gnawing into the stomach of one of the massive beasts. The wargs were them, and with them, likely also the chieftain. And seeing their leaders dead, panic had begun to spread amongst the goblins, and they began to run, at first retreating in little clusters, until eventually a steady stream of little green figures fled into the night.

After all the raids, ambushes, all the dungeon crawling and infiltration, we finally did it. We had won.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level):   
(2nd Level): Knock

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems, Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Moruca (Level 4 Ranger), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Yua (Level 4 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	34. Isekai Life & Drink Circle

The funeral was held by midmorning. We scavenged a few leaky derelicts from the ancient boat house in which our party hid our perfectly good boats. I was able to use Mending to make them seaworthy, and the bodies of Nievan and the other member of the Ravenwatch who died, Galtrath, were laid in. Their armor and shields were kept to be delivered to their families, but the mist elves did not send their people to the grave unarmed, and so each one clasped at their breast a shining longsword. After, earth and stones were packed around the body, covering their legs and abdomen.

I didn't know Nievan well, and I didn't know Galtrath at all. But as Raszil spoke some quiet words of prayer over the two bodies, I couldn't help but reflect on my own mortality. These two men had given up centuries of their lives to protect a handful of human farmers and a princess who had led them to their doom. It was difficult to comprehend the enormity of it. I couldn't tell if they were heroes or fools, to have sold so much for so little. 

If only we had access to some of their griffons still, they could be whisked off to the Mist Kingdom in time to be resurrected, but in our current situation it was impossible to get them to a strong enough cleric within a week.

“Interred in earth, water or sky, the destination is the same for all mortal beings who walk this earth,” Raszil said solemnly, “Suleyar, we ask that you greet these men as brothers, give to them the final Answer, and lay bare all earthly secrets to them, so they may rest at peace, full of the knowledge that they had served their purpose under the heavens.”

Haseth, as their commanding officer, waded out into the river, holding each skiff steady so that Kythaela could kiss each man on the brow, before sending them on their way, out to sea.

It was a solemn moment for us all, but unfortunately that didn't get to last.

By noon, our number of farmers on hand had been cut in half. A few strong rowers had taken a quarter of the supplies and all the teenagers and children onto our commandeered goblin boats, and started off upstream to Rhymer's Cross. They would arrive a few days ahead of the rest of us, and bring news to the town of the goblins' defeat. 

The rest of us would be travelling overland, on a meandering course that would take us days to find the closest road. Boss Gull swore that he knew these woods like the back of his hand, and could get us town within a week. As escorts against the threat of goblins, my party and the Ravenwatch would be accompanying them.

However, not all of us would be going.

“I'm staying here,” Moruca told me in a defiant tone, as we were distributing the supplies evenly among everyone travelling, “You lot are leaving the job half-done.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, “The goblins are done. It'll take years before they get together into a concentrated force, and that might never happen, depending on how winter turns out. They're certainly no longer a threat to the people here.”

“I signed up to kill goblins, and there are still goblins, hundreds of them,” was all she offered as explanation.

That was partly my fault. I didn't truly appreciate just how many goblins there were. We killed hundreds over the course of the battle- the goblins had even gone so far as to send their own children against us, a fact I had mixed feelings about- but as far as anyone could tell from the tracks and their own recollections, it was only about half their total number. The rest were scattered and leaderless, but still vastly outnumbered us.

It suddenly dawned on me what might be going on here. “...You used to have grandchildren, didn't you?”

It didn't seem possible, but Moruca's face hardened even more. Where before she resemble a tough old tree root, now she seemed to be chiselled from stone. “Maybe, maybe not. If I did, they ain't around no more.”

I had been thinking about what Raszil had said to me two nights previous. I put a hand on the old woman's shoulder. “Take as many arrows as you think you'll need.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What do you mean?”

I gestured at everyone here, rigging up makeshift packs on the bottom floor of the tower. “Voss, Yua and I need to go take care of our companion, Calliope. The elves need to get their princess home. The farmers need to get to work on their crops before autumn. For the rest of us, this job is done, and it's time to move on.” I turned back to Moruca. “If you say your calling is to hunt down the rest of these goblins, we'll leave you with whatever we can spare, and all the arrows you need. You will want to avoid camping near the coast here, because of the lacedons, of course.”

She was silent for a while, then turned away. “Good.”

I took that as thanks, and went back to helping people with their packs.

We set off shortly after noon, heading into the forest, moving east and slightly north towards the nearest ford. The goblin encampment wasn't abandoned, but the handful of goblins there avoided us, fleeing out of their crude lean-tos and shelters as we went. Nobody bothered them- after all, we had just left the tower which, at this point, was almost a charnel house with all the dead clustered around it.

Once we were past that point, I hustled ahead a bit and fell in beside Haseth and Kythaela. The princess didn't react to my presence, although Haseth gave me a nod. “Sir Theodore. To what do I owe the honour?”

“Um, sorry if this is awkward,” I began, “But I just wanted to make sure you got word to Seran that we rescued your princess. So he can arrange to have Calliope raised from the dead.”

“How would I do that?” Haseth asked, confused, “I don't have a messenger bird or anything....”

My dismay must have been obvious, because the battle-scarred elf allowed himself a small smile. “Ah, I see. Our agreement was to raise your lady in exchange for your cooperation. I never intended to hold her life hostage in exchange for the rescue of Princess Kythaela.”

I shook my head, disbelieving. “What exactly do you mean?”

“If the winds favoured Seran's flight, and the king accepted Seran's explanation, Lady Calliope should have been among the living since the day before last.”

“Wait, what? Why would you...?”

Haseth help up a hand to stop me. “You agreed to lend your cooperation, we agreed to raise Lady Calliope. Actually freeing the prisoners is merely a happy consequence of our agreement. Had we failed, your lady will have still returned to the living.”

“Ah, I see.” This must be what it feels like to make a deal with a straight-up Lawful Good person. It had never even occurred to me that our deal would play out that way.

Abruptly, I realized that the elven princess was staring at me, with that wide-eyed, owl look of hers. I thought initially it was from her being shell shocked within the tower, but it seemed like it was more of a habit of hers.

“Uh, sorry,” I replied, running a hand through my hair, “I didn't... I mean, I guess I didn't full think things through.”

“It is alright, Sir Theodore,” Haseth replied, “I am a man of honour, I would never ask someone to put their life on the line for a reward they may never get to enjoy. A fool pays for victory, a wise man pays for loyalty.”

“Your Lady Calliope must be very fortunate, to have someone dote on her so,” Kythaela chimed in, which made me flush deeply with embarrassment. I realized what an awkward scene I must have made... but the news did put a spring in my step.

By that night, we made camp by the riverside, only a few miles downstream of the ford that Boss Gull knew about. For the first time in awhile, we had something resembling privacy. The farmers, about forty of them with us, built their own fires, as did the Ravenwatch, although we did collaborate on setting a proper watch.

As it happened, first watch that night didn't involve any of my little quartet. So we just enjoyed a chance to relax together around a fire. Raszil produced a flask from his pack and took a sip before passing it to Voss.

Voss sampled the flask, and made a face. “What in the All-Father's name did I just drink? It tastes like... vinegar and cloves? But not in a good way.”

Raszil chuckled. “Let's just call it an old gnomish recipe. I'd tell you what went in it, but then I'd have to kill you.”

Voss passed the flask over to me. “Priest of secrets, huh?” I asked Raszil, before taking an exploratory sip. The taste of the cloves was cloying, and the liquor taste was very strong, but it had a way of warming you in the chest rather than simply burning your throat.

“That's right,” Raszil replied with a wicked grin.

I passed the flask on to Yua, before taking a look around at my allies gathered around the campfire. “I wanted to say thank you, to all of you,” I said, making eye contact with each of them in turn, “I know we had all agreed to fight the goblins, but the last few days... I really appreciate that you all decided to come with me, putting everything on the line to get Calliope back.”

Yua coughed slightly and wiped her mouth with a sleeve as she passed the flask back to Raszil, and inclined her head towards me. “You are welcome,” she said, in strongly accented Common.

Voss' eyes shot up. “Whoa, she can talk!?”

“She could always talk,” Raszil told him wryly, “It's just now she's finally learned the common tongue.”

“Only some, Raszir friend,” she she softly, “I have try best to learn, but I am slow learner sometimes.” She bowed her head again. “Thank you for patience.”

“I'll drink to that,” the gnome replied, before sending the flask around for another journey.

“Hey, it's great,” Voss said, “I'm sure Calliope will be in for a huge surprise, huh?”

“Yeah I guess so,” I replied, before helping myself to a second sip. “Anyway, now that this is done, I'm going to try to be less selfish as your... leader,” I barely corrected myself in time, “I want to help you to achieve your goals as well as mine. So if there's anything you'd like to do, just ask.”

Raszil shrugged. “Now that the goblins are disorganized, and the roads should be clear, I have no reason for being in Rhymer's Cross any more. I was actually going to ask to sign on with you, for a time, if that's alright.”

Voss gave me a careful look, and I gave him a brief nod in return. “For a time, certainly. Once we've rejoined with the other half of our party, I'd like to revisit the issue, just in case. I don't want to neglect their opinion when it comes to adding to our number. I'm sure it won't be an issue, but I want to be fair.”

“Fine enough,” the gnome replied, with a chuckle and a sip of his flask, “I'll make sure to wear my good shirt.”

When it was passed to him, Voss shook his head and sent the flask straight on to me. “I'm on third watch, remember?” he explained.

Raszil shrugged. “One of the advantages of being from a small people is that you big ones always seem to think we can't handle real work,” he said, “And I hope you'll pardon me if I don't remind Haseth about that.”

While Raszil and Voss bantered, Yua had shifted over to where I sat, and gently tugged at me sleeve. “My Lord, there is something I want you to know,” she said in her native language.

“Alright, please,” I responded in kind, “Go ahead.”

She paused for what seemed like a long time, and then pounced forward, her hand darting out to seize the flask from me before I could do anything. She very quickly pounded back two drinks, then added a third before she started coughing, pushing the flask at Raszil. I was speechless about this sudden change in her behaviour. She blinked at me, suddenly unsteady, and grabbed the collar of my robe.

“You... you dishonoured me!” she stated, jerking me closer.

“I... I didn't...!” I desperately said, but her sheer strength was incredible. I don't know what about Dragonborn physiology was causing this sudden reaction to the liquor, but soon my face was inches from hers, close enough that I could feel her breath on my lips.

“You are my lord,” she explained, “I am to protect you. So, when you run off without telling me, you are dishonouring my wishes.”

“R-right....”

“So... don't do that.”

“Uh, yeah, I'll try to, uh, keep that in mind.” Also, her apparently quite low Constitution score. Both good, relevant things to remember.

“Good,” she said, licking her lips. Her eyes darted down at my body, before returning to my eyes. A blush spread across her cheeks, and she very deliberately released by collar. “Good,” she added.

Feeling the cold air on my chest from where she tugged everything out of place, I put my clothes to order, resolving to be careful around buzzed Yua in the future.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Burning Hands, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems, Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 320 gp, 791 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	35. Isekai Life & Victory Surprises

Despite, or maybe because of, our precautions when it came to protection against ambush, we were entirely unmolested on our five-day journey from the coast to Rhymer's Cross. It was a long trudge, to be sure, but Voss, Yua and I had something that we hadn't felt in weeks, since we first encountered the goblins that night on the road- a sense of victory.

Because of that, it was also an opportunity to get done some chores that I wouldn't have had time for otherwise. Using my Mending spell to repair battle damage to my allies' armour. Renewing my own Armour spell. Using Detect Magic to ensure that none of the gemstones I picked up were magic (they weren't). Developing a new appreciation for Tenser's Floating Disc every time we had to ford a river with our massive amount of supplies. It ended up being a fairly good exercise for the logistical aspects of my spell list, and I even ended up neglecting defensive and offensive spells entirely in favour of Mending and the Floating Disc. I became very popular among the old timers travelling with us for that- using the Floating Disc as an impromptu wheelchair when we were getting close to the end of a day's march and wouldn't need it for ferrying supplies.

Yua, in spite of being a certified lightweight, didn't seemed too fazed by her brush with drunkeness. She was quiet the entire rest of the night, and in the morning didn't seem hindered by any hangover or anything. She also just started following me around everywhere again, always a few steps behind. It was kind of nice, and made me feel safe. Not that I was feeling particularly unsafe, but I knew she was always there.

Voss, meanwhile, always seemed to have something else to do. He insisted on volunteering for everything, so he spent his days helping forge a path, kept watch at night, and when he wasn't busy with any of those fell back to support the rear guard. It was almost dizzying, watching him go back and forth.

Razsil, for the most part, just tried to focus on keeping up. His shorter legs (and the lower base speed of the Gnomish race) meant that he always had to hustle to keep up, and by the end of the day he was complaining about how his legs ached. You'd think he would be using his cleric magic to heal these aches, but instead he used his spells to purify water for us all to drink, because if anyone actually fell sick on our journey, we'd probably have to abandon them in the wild. Instead, Yua would lay on hands, soothing his aches at the end of the day... and being tended too by the beautiful dragon girl probably also factored into his calculus.

While our reception in Rhymer's Cross was subdued, we were welcomed much more warmly. The people we sent upriver had arrived three days prior, and warned everyone of our coming, but they didn't know exactly when we would get there so nothing was really planned. Estrid and the guards greeted us at first, but soon word got around, and people were trickling in to greet us all. There were many reunited friends and family between the ex-slaves and the people sheltering from the goblin raiders, and my hand was shaken so much that I felt as though it would snap off at the elbow. 

What happened with the Mist Elves was even more remarkable. At first they were given the stink eye by the townsfolk, and someone even spit in their direction. But as ex-slaves and townsfolk reunited, the truth of what the Ravenwatch had done to protect the farmers, even if it was only a byb-blow of protecting their princess, came it. It helped that Kythaera shed her haunted look temporarily to put on a smiling facade, and do her best to look the graceful, gentle elven princess when speaking to people. She even went so as to curtsy to Estrid and thank her for selflessly protecting such fine people. You wouldn't have thought it possible, but the animosity between the two races was shed, at least temporarily. 

Big Dap and Ina once again offered to put us up, and while we didn't have a massive feast or anything, this time there was a beef and barley stew, pickled vegetables, fruit jam, and a wildberry pie for dessert. Once news had arrived of our victory, the restrictions and rationing were eased up immediately, and while it would be a lot of hard work for the town to recover enough to survive the winter, for this special occasion there was enough food for everyone. 

Late in the evening, Big Dap tapped Raszil, Voss and I, and said it was time for “men to be men”. That sounded really strange to me at first, but I didn't want to baselessly refuse, so I went along. It turned out to just be sharing cider on the front porch.

“I shouldn't have this,” the big baker explained, “All the alcohol was supposed to be taken in the rationing, but I hid a few things. After all, I make the bread in this town.”

There was a problem with what he said, but I didn't say anything about it. Instead I patiently waited someone to pass the cider bottle to me, and noted, “We're sure sitting around drinking alcohol a lot lately.”

“That's what victory is like,” Raszil pointed out as he finally handed me the bottle, “You relax and enjoy the taste of victory.”

The cidar was nice and tart, and didn't taste very strong at all. After Raszil's moonshine or whatever that was, it was a welcome difference. “We're not finished our primary mission, though.”

“Yeah, that's true,” Voss replied, “We couldn't ignore this goblin situation, but it doesn't seem like they had enough slaves to account for all the towns disappearing.”

“Sorry,” Raszil said, “Did you say you had a larger mission?”

It was easy to forget, after so long. “Yeah, Ricard and Mia Parett of Pendleton hired us to look into some villages that have vanished,” I explained, “We thought at first these goblins might have something to do with it, but Voss is right. It was a side mission, and I'm glad we did it, but....”

“The gods make fools of us all,” Raszil said with a note of wonder in his voice, “Theodore, would you believe me if I said I was present in the town of Birchen when it was attacked?”

I nearly dropped the cider in surprise. “That would be quite a coincidence....”

“Not at all,” Raszil said with a shrug, “I happened to be travelling from the north, and the lack of centralized law in the Lakelands appealed to me. I was cooling my heels for a few days in the Sparrow's Rest Inn when the storm happened.”

Voss frowned. “A storm vanished a town?”

Raszil shook his head. “I don't know about any vanishing. That storm wiped the town off the map. It started in the dead of night, after a clear day. The inn had a cellar, thank the gods, but even then I had to hide myself in an empty barrel when the cellar doors were ripped away.” He breathed a heavy sigh. “It was... apocalyptic. The sort of thing you read about in scripture, not one stone standing on another. A town of hundreds reduced to a few dozen in hours.”

“You didn't stay to help?” Big Dap asked.

Raszil shrugged again. “What can one small man do in that situation? I healed some of the worst injured, did rites over the dead, but Suleyar is not a god that builds. I did what I could and left them to their grief.”

Voss looked at me. “A powerful, magically-enhanced storm....”

I nodded. “Elven supremacists who called themselves storm elves.”

He sighed. “But... they seem alright, those Ravenwatch guys.”

“It could be that they're not in on it,” I replied, “The entire kingdom had a huge sea change, if what Haseth said was true. So, we need to find out for ourselves.”

“...And the princess is our ticket in.” Voss knocked back a big swig of cider. “Calliope, too, I guess. And then more conspiracies and liars. Well, I guess smashing gobbos was just a break from all of that.”

“You two have an... interesting history, don't you?” Raszil dryly asked.

“Rasz, you don't even know the half of it,” Voss replied.

We were silent for a long while.

Eventually, we noticed a light bobbing towards us in the evening dark. Someone was coming up the road, andwe heard the jangling of metal against metal. When it got close enough to make out the shape of a lantern being held in a man's fist. Big Dap got up from his seat and casually leaned against the rail of his porch. “Ho, there.”

“Ho, Dap,” came a familiar voice.

“Gull,” Big Dap confirmed, “How can I help you? Bakery's closed til tomorrow morn.”

“Ain't here for you, sir,” Boss Gull was finally closed enough that I could see he was carrying what appeared to be one of the sacks we rescued from the goblin tribe. “Need to speak with your house guests, there.”

I frowned and rose myself. “What about?”

“Well...” in the flickering lantern light, Boss Gull looked uncomfortable, even embarrassed. “We could use this for the town, you know. And that was my initial thought. But that girl Estrid... No, no... the Shire-Reeve, she is now, ain't she? She made a convincing argument.”

“For what?” I said, getting a little annoyed with the old man.

In response, he sung the sack onto the porch, which landed with a distinct metallic ring. “When you and yours were recovering from that battle, me and mine were dealing with the dead gobbos. That's pretty close to half of what we found, by weight. As thanks and bless yous for what you did.”

Voss crouched by the sack, undid the laces, and whistled, impressed. I leaned to peek over his shoulder. The sack- a good-sized flour sack- was filled with shining silver coins. In all the rushing around and battle, I had totally forgotten that goblins dropped 3d6 silver coins each.

“Th-Thank you very much,” I managed to stammer out after awhile. But that didn't seem quite enough. I had much more gold stashed away in my large chest, but for people such as these, even this was a fortune. So, instead, I bowed my head. “It was an honour to help you in your time of need. I only regret that we couldn't do more, sooner.”

Raszil coughed, for some reason- I guess the cider went down the wrong pipe when he managed to get a glimpse of the coin himself. Boss Gull just rubbed his head, looking chastened. “Well, now, that's no fair. Now I just feel worse for trying to cut you out. Ah, I'm going back to my brother's house before you get me again, Sir Theodore. Enjoy your evening.”

And like a strange fairy dropping off coins to good children, he vanished into the night.

Voss ended up elbowing me a little. “You know, men who are lucky with women shouldn't be rich, too.”

“Theodore is lucky with women?” Big Dap asked, pressing the bottle into my hand, “How do you mean?”

“Well, I shouldn't go into it, but he is,” Voss said with a sad smile. “Out of every lady in our whole party, there's only one who doesn't have a torch for him. He promised that if someone had their eye on me, he's stay out of it, but....”

That last remark surprised me. “I thought you and Enna might have been a thing,” I replied.

Raszil coughed again. “Ah, pardon me,” he said, “I'd better go inside. Wouldn't want to catch a cold when we're leaving soon.”

“Enna?” Voss laughed, “Yeah, I made a pass at her when we were stopped in that one village in the mountains, the one with all the sheep? She said she wasn't interested, that I was too pretty and she liked a man who had a little bit of weathering.” He shrugged. “That's fine, I was just being drunk and frisky, and it was nice to be called pretty, even if I was being rejected.”

“There's hope for you yet,” I replied, helping myself to a long pull of the cider.

“Hey, Dap, what day is it?”

The big baker crossed his arms, and frowned. “Can't be too sure, what with everything, but I think it's the third of Latesummer. Why?”

“The third? Already?” Voss replied with wonder in his voice, “There you go, Theodore. Happy birthday, here's a big sack of coin.”

“My birthday, huh...?” I looked up at the starlit sky. I suppose it was. For the second time in my “life”, I was twenty again.

“I didn't get you anything, though.”

“Are you kidding?” I smiled at the knight, “You give me all your chances at women, what more could I ask for?”

The three of us all shared a hearty laugh. It wasn't that good of a joke, but we had that kind of atmosphere that made it better.

It was crowded that night, all of us under one roof, sleeping at the same time as Big Dap's family, but we made it work. It even helped us, rising with the bakers in the very early morning, since Voss, Yua and I ended up spending most of that day travelling out to the riverside and rounding up all our horses. They seemed only a little worse for wear after being pastured alone for so long, and I made sure to give Snacks and Custard lots of affection. Buttermilk was his usual snappy self, his mood not improving after being away from Calliope for so long.

We were packing up our wagon outside the Shire-Reeve's office late that night when Haseth came walking towards us.

“Sir Theodore, Sir Voss, Lady Yua,” he said, taking us all in with his good eye, “I see we are of one mind.”

“Yes, I thought you might want to leave as soon as possible, to get your lady home,” I replied, “Sorry for taking so long getting our things together.”

“It is nothing, Her Grace and I had to negotiate with the Lady Estrid for mounts of our own to borrow for the trip.”

Voss frowned. “Wait, only you and the princess are coming? Did I hear that right?”

The grizzled elf nodded. “Princess Kythaela has ordered the remainder of the Ravenwatch to stay here for now, recover from their malnutrition, and assist the people of Rhymer's Cross with any further problems with goblins or other marauders. However, she is required in the Kingdom of Mist as soon as possible, and so cannot delay for her own recovery.”

“Tomorrow morning, then?”

“Until then, Sir Theodore.”

That night, after another hearty meal, Voss and I sat down and explained the situation to Yua, which sitting behind Dap's house on a few logs. Everything- why we were travelling the Lakelands, why we were going to the Misty Kingdom, even why we had left Enna, Katriana, Ashryn and Bekkar behind. Yua was very much in the dark about everything still, since at the last time we discussed this among ourselves in detail, we still had a firm language barrier between us.

“I understand,” she said simply, “We are going to a place with strangers, some of which are our enemy, and some of which could be friends. We can probably trust the warrior Haseth, and his lady, but that is not completely certain and I should trust them to a degree without leaving myself vulnerable unnecessarily. We must destroy our enemies. It shall be done, my lord.”

Well, when you summarize it that simply....

When we were done, and Voss had already departed inside, Yua tugged on my sleeve again before I could leave. “My lord, there is part that I request you explain again.”

“Oh, certainly,” I said, seating myself, “What do you need to know?”

“Lady Katriana is my lord's sister... but also his wife and is carrying his child.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “Does that bother you?” I asked.

“And... Lady Ashryn will also be Lord Theodore's wife, and is also carrying his child.”

“Yes....”

“And Lady Calliope is also my lord's lover and wife-to-be.”

It was firmly fixed in my mind that Yua was technically a paladin and could lose all her nifty powers and abilities for not striking off my head, if this was somehow against her god.

“Does that make you uncomfortable?” I repeated.

“No. It is good to know what kind of man my lord is,” she said, although she did rotate her body away from me and looked up at the stars. “It is usual for the emperor of my homeland to marry back into the royal bloodline, and while they are usually our enemies, there is a great nation not far from my home where the king routinely keeps concubines and multiple wives. So... it is good to know what kind of man my lord is, that he does such things.”

“Ah... thanks, Yua,” I replied, relaxing, “It means a lot to me that you don't judge my family.”

“Of course,” she replied, “May I be excused, to engage in my meditations, my lord?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Yua headed inside, leaving me to look up at the stars. Shortly, I heard her yell, but it didn't sound like surprise or fear. Some kind of “hi-ya” karate thing, I mused.

After another somewhat crowded night, we were finally ready to leave, just the six of us. Voss and Raszil lead the way, then Haseth and Kythaela, and finally I rode beside the wagon and Yua in the rear. The sky was clear, the sun was warm (but tempered by a cool breeze), and many of the people of the town came out to say goodbye.

Among them was the always taciturn Estrid. She shook my hand, and gave me a brief, small smile. “You did okay, for city-folk,” was all she said.

“Happy to be of service,” I replied.

Dap and Ina handed over a cold but fresh meat pie for the road, and the big baker slapped me on the back hard enough, that I was certain it cause me temporary damage. It felt good, to leave behind smiling people, who were hopeful for the future. It also felt good to be journeying back to Calliope.

We were fairly well provisioned, now that our trail rations had been returned to us, and the roads should be safe. I found myself wondering about Moruca, if she was still alive, tearing up goblins to the west of us.

The remaining members of the Ravenwatch were lined up along the road out of town, raising their swords in a salute. I waved as we went by, but they remained stoic. That's fine, they fought off a small army despite being malnourished and mistreated for weeks. They had every right to act like tough guys.

It's only then that it struck me as odd. They were all guys. Nobody seemed to bat an eye at the mention of a female knight until now, although they did seem slightly less common... out of the dozen members of the Ravenwatch I'd met to date, why were all of them men? I resolved to ask Haseth later, if only just to make conversation.

We made good time. We didn't exactly have a local guide or anything, but according to our map, we should be able to cut the corner of the map, skip the Birchen area entirely and rejoin the road running across the north somewhere west of Temple Meadow. It was easy travel, for once, and shortly after noon we ended up crossing the first bridge taking us away from the area of Rhymer's Cross, and once we were on the other side, we found a peaceful stretch of shoreline to rest the horses and have a midday meal, just out of sight behind a copse of trees.

“Mmm, I'd almost forgotten how peaceful travel could be,” remarked Voss as he sliced up a bit of hard cheese to hand out slices to have with our meat pie. The pie was greasy and spicy, and put me in the mind of Italian sausage from back in my previous life.

“Yeah, this isn't bad at all-”

“Hsst!”

Yua shushed us all sharply, her hand already on the hilt of her greatsword. That's when we all heard it- the sound of footsteps on the bridge.

Haseth drew his sword almost silently, and rose to stand in front of his princess, who just had that same, haunted stare, although she was focused on the bridge. Voss, who had been hoping to shoot a bird or squirrel or something for dinner, eased an arrow from the quiver at his him, and groped for his bow on the ground.

When someone finally appeared, it was to a knocked arrow, an armed warrior, and an angry wizard staring them down. But I relaxed almost immediately. Truth is, I wanted to put my head in my hands and groan, but I somehow restrained myself.

Leading a patchy old mule was a familiar teenage girl.

“Um, I come in peace,” Sorrel squeaked nervously.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Featherfall, Mending, Tenser's Floating Disc  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems, Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	36. Isekai Life & Several Reflections

“Sir Voss, please make your squire and teach me how to be a knight!”

Just like that, this bratty kid started an argument between Voss and I.

“We can't take her along, she's just a teenager.”

“We're you technically just a teenager until a few days ago?”

“There's a world of difference between thirteen and nineteen!”

“Actually, I'm fourteen,” Sorrel interjected, sounding hurt.

I ignored her. “Besides, all our spare weapons are with the storage chest in Pendleton.”

“Well, I need to get better with the halberd, so she can use my spear.”

That presented it's own logistical hurdles, but I couldn't just say 'you have a weapon specialization for spears and not halberds'. But, I also realized he had a longsword in his kit somewhere but that didn't exactly help my case. So I tried from a different attack angle. “She doesn't know how to listen!” I said.

“At the time she wasn't listening, we needed her help. You were just being stubborn, like you are now.”

That really made me feel furious. “Well, that suited you just fine when...!”

Through this entire exchange, Voss and I had closed in on each other, until we were yelling in each other's faces. Suddenly, an iron hand seized each of us by the shoulder, and pulled us apart.

“Gentlemen! I do not think we need this situation to escalate further!” Haseth said sternly, even as he pulled us apart.

I was still fuming at Voss, but my two-layer personality meant that one part of me could see that this situation was getting out of hand. Voss and I had never argued before, and now that we had something causing strife between us, the “real” Theodore was experiencing the first time a subordinate went against him in such a strong way.

“Sir Voss, why don't you take a short walk with the young miss, and find out if she's serious about becoming your squire,” Haseth suggested in a way that made it sound like it wasn't a suggestion at all.

“Fine, I'll do it,” Voss replied before turned around and stalking off.

Voss turned, grabbed Sorrel by the wrist, and stalked off down the bridge. Haseth waited until they were out of sight before turning on me.

“What is your problem?”

“Huh?” I felt shocked. I was causing the problem? “We can't take care of some kid!”

“She isn't asking to be taken care of,” Haseth explained calmly, “She is asking Voss to assist him, evidently after she was helpful to you back in that tower. So why are you angry?”

“I... uh...” I scrmabled to think of why precisely I was mad, “Because... she'll slow us down!”

“We are not in a particular hurry, and we are also well-provisioned,” Haseth pointed out, “So why do you hate this girl so much that you'll have a fight with one of your closest allies?”

I relaxed a little. “I... I guess she just got on my nerves, the first time we met.”

Suddenly, a hand clamped down on Haseth's wrist. Yua was standing next to us, smiling a forced smile, but her eyes started daggers at Haseth.

“You will release.”

“Of course, Lady Yua, forgive me for being rough with your master.”

Haseth let me go, and I stumbled a bit, recovering myself. 

“Think on what I said,” Haseth said before turning back to his princess... but Kythaela was alright there, staring at me.

What now? I thought to myself.

“Sorrel is a good girl,” the princess said flatly.

“I-is she?” I stammered back.

“She was captured for longer than I was...” the princess look away as she said it, “She spoke each day of fighting back, or poisoning them. The goblins. She's a spirited girl.”

“Uh, okay...” I sighed, “Yeah, okay I see what you mean. I'm sure she'll be a good squire.”

Kythaela nodded her head once, and silently returned to her meal.

I sighed, straightening up. “I'm going to go find Voss, and apologize,” I said, to no one in particular, before turning to Yua, “Stay here for a bit, okay?”

“I am your servant, my lord.”

I headed down the bridge, to where I saw Sorrel and Voss speaking at the far side. The bushy-haired teen looked upset about something, but was nodding in response to what Voss said. When the knight saw me coming, he left her at the end of the bridge to dry her tears, and met me in the middle.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” I said, rubbing my nose for second, “Uh, sorry about that. I'm not sure what came over me, but it... wasn't good.”

“Yeah, you can saw that again,” Voss leaned on the railing, and looked down into the river. “I told her if you were a firm no, that she would have to go back, but... she doesn't have anywhere to go back to. Her whole family was killed by the goblins. It's kind of amazing she's here at all.”

“That's not necessary,” I replied, “If you want her to be your squire, that's good enough for me.”

Voss nodded. “Thank you. I'll make sure she won't let you down.”

“When you knight her, she might not choose to swear to me,” I reminded Voss, “Which could end up being an issue for our secrecy, but I guess I don't have to worry about that for awhile.”

“Yeah, that's a fair point. Let's go finish our lunch, okay?”

It wasn't completely over just like that- I didn't really see the value Voss saw in the awkward, bushy-haired teen who couldn't restrain herself from talking back. But it was over for now. I still found the girl annoying, but Voss kept her busy. Every time we stopped it seemed that soon after, he would have Sorrel on her feet making practice cuts with a branch.

Our journey was mostly uneventful. For two days we travelled northeast, before we met a larger road running west to east. We passed through the deserted ruin of Temple Meadows, a tiny speck a third the size of Rhymer's Cross built around a sizeable stone edifice... which lay in complete and utter ruin. Raszil's analogy struck home- it was an absolutely biblical level of destruction, and I could believe that no stone would be found stacked on another. Unlike what he had implied about Birchen, there wasn't anyone here trying to rebuild. We could see where the limbs of the dead were poking out from this or that pile of rubble, and heeled our horses a little faster. Thankfully, the main thoroughfare through town wasn't so badly choked that we had trouble with the cart- the tooth marks on some of the corpses told us that the ghouls would be out once the sun had set, and nobody wanted to deal with that.

Two days later, when we saw the first signs that we were drawing close to Felldarrow, we agreed to swing south and follow river rather than remain on the road. Haseth made an excuse of wanting to avoid trouble with humans living so close to the Misty Kingdom, but I, at least, had seen enough death.

We followed the river for two days, until the river met up with a long, narrow lake surrounded by tall willows and ash-pale birch trees, and beyond them, the peaks of the northern mountains. It was drawing late, and the sun glowed on the still waters of the lake like a dying ember.

Haseth reined up to me. “We should camp here. This is Shaen Minarea, the last patch of wild before we arrive at the gates of the kingdom. This water is clean, drawn from the snowmelt, so we shall have a chance to bath and collect ourselves before you have to present yourself to His Grace.”

I nodded. Shaen Minarea meant “Sea of Willows”, it hardly seemed like a dire place to relax a little. “That seems like good council. Thank you for the recommendation, Sir Haseth.”

Sorrel had graduated to making practice cuts with actual steel in her hand, and was to one side, making lunges at thin air while Voss stood wide to one side and gave her instruction. Yua obediently went around making a fire without being asked, so I decided to hop on the the cart and portion out oats and the day's opportunistic hunting for a porridge. Travelling together for so long, it was easier to pitch in and just do something rather than laze around and cause problems. Haseth was busy hobbling and rubbing down the animals, Raszil was at the lakeside gathering water, and although Kythaela was simply sitting on a blanket staring out at the lake... well, she had been through a lot lately, so I was a little more forgiving.

After a brief, simple supper of squirrel-meat-and-berry porridge, Kythaela stood up and dusted her hands off. “I am going over there,” she announced, indicating place a bit further down the shoreline, “To bathe.”

Haseth tossed the remains of his supper into the fire and a made as if to rise and follow her, but the elven princess held out a hand. “That is not necessary, Sir Haseth,” she chided gently, “We haven't seen another living soul for weeks, and I trust our companions. The gentlemen can bathe in the opposite direction.”

“Ah... As you, wish, Your Highness,” Haseth replied awkwardly, “If you require anything....”

“You will hear it, I promise you.”

“Well, there's no sense in standing on ceremony, then,” Raszil said, “I'm going.”

“I'll join you,” Voss said, “I'd like to be done before dark.”

The two men and one princess went opposite directions. I idly played with the embers of our little fire, poking them with a stick. I still wasn't quite used to the idea of bathing with other men. I avoided locker rooms like the plague in my previous life, and, well, I figured as I prince I could be forgiven for being a bit picky in this regard. When the two men returned, as dark began settling over the lake, I glanced at Haseth. “Are you going?”

He frowned. “I'd prefer to wait for the Princess before taking my ease,” he replied, “Please, don't wait on me.”

I shrugged at him, and headed out, eager to wash off the mud and stink that I'd accrued from almost a week on horseback.

I found a little stretch of sandy beach, just hidden from the campsite by a stand of willows, and stripped off. The water was cold, but not uncomfortable, and the bottom of the lake was just the right consistency that wading out didn't raise a lot of mud. It was more or less perfect for bathing, and I could see why Haseth picked this place for camping tonight.

I had been going through the process of scrubbing off the travel stains from my body when I heard a rustling coming the shoreline. I glanced over, dreading to see Haseth... and instead saw a naked woman wading towards me. I had the initial gut reaction of running through all the aquatic monsters I knew of in my head- rusalka, aloja, nereid... before realizing that it was Princess Kythaela.

I blinked, wondering if hallucinations are part of hypothermia or something, when she spoke. “Do you want this body?”

I couldn't help but glance her over in response to that. She was very beautiful, though her ribs still stood out from her malnutrition, and she was overall very underdeveloped to what I preferred, with skinny legs and a flat chest, although her nipples stood out, puffy and tantalizing, in the night air. It was full dark by this time, and the mirrorlike surface of the lake reflected the moon and the stars. The effect could only be described as ethereal.

“Um,” was all I managed as a response.

“That girl you are trading me for... she was your lover, right?” she said as she slipped towards me through the still water. “It must be hard, going without... that... for so long. Do you want to make use of me? Possess me? Violate me?”

“H-how did you get over here?” I managed, slowly backing away, deeper into the lake. My mind spun, trying to figure out if this turn of events was real, or some kind of trap.

“I swam, of course,” she softly, “How else? I am going to be dead soon. If someone could enjoy this body, it may as well be you.”

When I was up to my neck, Kythaela kicked off the bottom of the lake, and wrapped her arms around my neck, and her legs around my torso, lightly clinging to me as a child or a lover might. I realized I did want her, badly, as I felt the hot bar of my erection pressed between us. Kythaela's eyes seemed larger in the moonlight, deep and mysterious.

“I-I'm sure, I mean, you're an elf, surely you're not going to die soon.”

She looked away. “Sure,” was all she offered as a response.

“A-anyway, isn't this a little forward for a princess?” I responded, extending my arms out to give us some stability, so I wouldn't lose my footing. “Y-you should go back, I'm sure Haseth will be here any moment.”

“Why won't you use me?” she asked, wiggling her hips in a way that sent shivers up my spine. “All I am is meat, and you seem nice... so just fuck me already.”

Abruptly it occurred to me that Kythaela wasn't doing anything. It was taking all of my attention to remain standing and reply to her, and she had her teeth and arms within easy reach of my neck... she wasn't some kind of monster, or possessed, or something strange like that. She was... something that had never been described in any Monster Manual that I've ever read. The constant unfocused stares, her complete detachment from anything except what Haseth told her to do... it was all adding up.

“Listen, Kythaela...” I said, swallowing hard, “I won't pretend that you aren't beautiful. I mean, you can tell that I'm attract to you, but, uh... you're sick, Kythaela. You've been through a lot, I mean, a lot of terrible things have been done to you, and whatever you think you should do... I don't want you to die, and I don't want to have sex with you. At least, not when you're like this.”

Now I was mentally flailing even more. There was no challenge rating for “elves with PTSD”, no entry in a book somewhere covering this situation, I didn't even know if there was a “cure mental illness” spell in AD&D.

“I'm not good enough for you?” Kythaela asked, staring at me with those dark, mysterious eyes of hers.

“N-no, I mean, you are,” I replied, “It's just that... I don't want it to be like this, with you throwing yourself at me, acting like what you choose to do with your body doesn't matter. You're not going to die, I promise. Not by your hand, or anyone else's.” I sighed. “All I want right now is for you to live, and get better, if you can. I-If you're in your right mind, and you still want to do this later, then let's, uh, revisit the issue.”

I felt Kythaela shuddering as she cling to me, and I wasn't sure if she was was crying or shivering. I ground my toes into the lake bottom, and pushed forward, somehow managing to swim over to where it was shallower, and staying upright was less of a problem. The motion made her cling to me even tighter, and once I was on more solid footing, I wrapped my arms around and just held her in my arms, as she silently trembled.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Featherfall, Mending, Tenser's Floating Disc  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems, Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage), Sorrel (Squire)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	37. Isekai Life & Elven Kingdom

“There you are, princess! Thank the gods!”

“It's alright, Sir Haseth, what's the matter? I was enjoying finally getting to have a little swim....”

The words of elvish faded as I swam back to where I was supposed to be bathing, as silently as I could. Kythaela and I ended up, I don't know, cuddling I guess? For quite awhile, until we heard the sounds of Haseth calling her name in the distance. 

“You really think I'm not going to die?”

“I promise.”

Those were our parting words, although I was a little uneasy about it. It seemed like quite a promise to make, but it also seemed like what the princess needed to hear at that time. I don't know if it was right for me to take that responsibility... but, I guess I just had to.

When I spotted by dark pile of clothing on the beach, I swam up and flopped onto by back in the shallows. With the water surrounding all around me, I grabbed my cock and masturbated with a ferocity that, well, men who three different lovers rarely knew.

Can you blame me? “Violate me, use me...” That was like catnip, and fit exactly into my personal fetishes. The princess was not exactly my body type but she was still very attractive. If it wasn't for the general weirdness of the situation, maybe my behaviour would have been different... but in order to treat her tomorrow with the kindness that she required, it demanded that right now I think about how good it would feel to have her riding my cock and looking at me with her dark liquid eyes, half-lidded and aroused.... This wasn't just self-gratification, it was almost like an exorcism for my lust.

When I was finished, I washed off all the semen in the lake, which felt a little like I was violating a sacred place. I felt kind of dirty in general, having to do that, but at least a certain kind of pressure was off. For now.

What exactly did I even get myself into, I wondered?.

When I returned to camp, Kythaela was already wrapped up in blankets and laying with her back to the fire- I guess the cold lake water took it's toll of her, after all. I nodded to Haseth. “Are you going to wash, now?”

“No point washing in the dark,” he said, “We'll have to dally in the morning for me and the rest of the women to get cleaned up.”

Huh, I guess that's right, Yua and Sorrel didn't wash up either, I guess trying to give Kythaela her space.

I dragged my bedroll over close to the fire, and settled down for the night. As usual, Yua moved her own bedroll closer to mine, not close enough to be considered intimate, but close enough I could roll over, reach and touch her. I guess she was just looking out for her lord.

I thought sleep would prove evasive after all that, but all the travel had left me saddle-sore and weary. It didn't take long for me to black out.

The next day, I slept late as usual. Because Haseth, Yua and Sorrel didn't have a chance to bathe, we we're in a hurry to leave, and for lack of anything better to do Voss ended up making all the preparations himself. When I finally roused myself, it was to a campsite that was already mostly packed up. I expected things to be awkward with Kythaela... but if she felt anything about the previous night, she made no sign, simply giving me a polite “good morning” and then staring off into space like usual. It was a little surreal, after the previous night.

“Finally we get to join back up with Calliope, huh?” Voss asked as he helps me strap my bedroll in place behind Snacks' saddle.

“Yeah, I'm a little nervous,” I replied, grateful for the opportunity to distract myself from Princess Kythaela, “It's been awhile.”

“Really?” he snorted in response, “You'll do fine. No doubt you'll already find her-”

“Be careful what you say, Sir Voss,” I interrupted him, “There is a lady present.”

He grimaced. “Still... what do you think are the chances there will be any single elf-maids around?”

I shrugged. “Pretty good, probably? Only one way to find out.”

“True enough.”

When camp was finally packed up, and all our errant bathers had dried and dressed, we headed up into the forested hills of the Sea of Willows. As Haseth and Kythaela lead us through, our path took us up winding trails, going climbing up the occasional incline, as if this terrain was once a series of carefully cultivated terraces that have since begun to fade into the natural terrain. Clouds of butterflies with wings of rust-brown and yellow danced lazily in the gaps between the trees, and our hoof-beats and the creak of the wagon axles seemed somehow muffled by the trees, highlighting the strangely harmonious song of birds. It really did feel like we were travelling into an enchanted land.

Sorrel sighed wistfully as only teenage girls can. “It's beautiful... I had no idea that a land like this was so near my home.”

“It is,” Kythaela responded, “I love this place.”

“These trees were planted at the height of the old empire,” Haseth explained, “And with them, the spells that enhanced the natural beauty of the land. The gates to the core of our kingdom were designed to delight and entrance our citizens.”

“Enjoy it for what it is,” Kythaela finished, “But hold in your hearts this lesson- that even the wicked long to create things of lasting beauty. Judge a society not by their monuments, but by their actions.”

We all fell silent. I was left to contemplate how it must feel to be a relatively “young” mist elf, living in the ruins of a great but terrible empire. No wonder that so many of them wanted to rebuild what they had, no matter how awful it was.

When we reached the apex of the ridge we were climbing, elven warriors with dark green cloaks and hoods seemed to melt out of the shadows to surround us. Their archers had arrows knocked, but not drawn, and their warriors had hands on weapons but did not draw. Their leader approached Haseth and Kythaela, and knelt before his princess. I strained to listen in on their conversation.

The first part of their conversation in elvish seemed to be some kind of formal exchange.

“Your Grace. For you, ever does the way stand open, for that is why the sentinel waits and the watch-fire burns.”

“We who stand in the light give thanks, for the burning wood never grows and the sentinel does not slumber,” Kythaela replied.

Then, they moved to a less formal tone: “You have been missed, Princess. It would be my honour to see you escorted before the Throne of Mist.”

Kythaela gave a wan smile. “As you can see, I have escorts aplenty. The gateway to our home should no go undefended.”

The leader of the guards eyed us warily, and when he saw me watching him, shot me a glare. “Word has come from the High Commander that no humans are to enter the vale. I would assume this applies to gnomes as well, and... other species.”

Haseth opened his mouth as if to speak, but Kythaela silenced him with a hand on his shoulder. Instead, she spoke for herself. “Has my father given you any commands in that regard, captain?”

The leader of the guards winced, and shook his head, defeated. “No, Your Grace.”

The difference in Kythaela's bearing as she drew herself up was almost staggering. She straightened her back, tilted her nose up, and looked down at the guard captain imperiously. “Then you will allow my guests to pass unharmed. They have done more to protect my person than any sentinel has in years,” she commanded in a way that put 'sentinel' on roughly the same level as 'pig farmer', “And I will not allow them to experience any affront to their honour while within my father's kingdom.”

That was also when I realized that “Sentinel” was a proper noun to the mist elves. It must be another kind of order within the mist elf army, and I idly wondered how they would stack up to the Ravenwatch.

“Your Grace...” the Sentinel captain said, shaking his head, “My men have families. I have a family, a young wife, you know what may-”

“Then honour your family by letting my guests through.”

The captain winced again, by waved his hand and shouted a command. “The guests of Princess Kythaela shall pass!” With extreme reluctance, the other Sentinels stood down and back away, some of them shooting glares at their vacillating commander.

Once we had travelled sufficiently through the foliage that we were out of sight of the checkpoint, Kythaela slumped in her saddle, as if intimidating the Sentinel captain had taken something physically out of her. Haseth reached out a hand to steady her, but after last night, well, I felt a little personal responsibility towards her, so I heeled Snacks forward to catch up to them.

Haseth was whispering something to her that I couldn't make up, but when I caught up he stopped and gave me a startled look. Kythaela tried to sit up straighter in her saddle. “Theodore,” she said at once, “I apologize for the Sentinels' rudeness. They should not have advanced like that on my guests and treated you with such hostility.”

“Oh, I don't care about that,” I replied, “I'm worried about you. That seemed to take a lot out of you.”

“Oh.” It was Kythaela's turn to look a little surprised. “Ah, I'm sorry, it's just... confident is the last thing I feel right now, never mind acting... royal, or authoritative. There's....” She bit her lip, looking anxious. “Just... you don't have to keep your promise, alright? There 's a very good chance that you won't be able to.”

That was a shock to hear. Did she fear some kind of assassination? “Well, if it's all the same, Princess, I should like to try anyway. You've been through a great deal of hardship, and I'd like to help if I could.”

She gave me a wan smile. “Thank you, Theodore. Perhaps it will be unnecessary.”

I was at a loss or what to say right then, so I just gave her a friendly nod and fell back to my previous position in the marching order. As I slowed Snacks, I could hear Haseth and Kythaela whispering in elvish.

“What promise did he make you, Princess?”

“It is nothing, Haseth.”

Raszil gave me a raised eyebrow as I settled back into place. I could understand why, we had been travelling almost exclusively as two groups who happen to be sharing the same road and same fires for most of the way there, and suddenly I was doting on Kythaela. I just shook my head at him, though. I didn't want to explain, and there was going to be enough to distract him soon enough.

Abruptly, we came upon a gently curving road paved with some kind of polished blue stones, quartz perhaps. Haseth guided us onto the road, and as we travelled, slowly the endless willow trees gave way to more signs of civilization. Here and there, through the woods, I could see distant buildings made of some kind of sparkling white brick. You'd think the elements would wear away the rock used in the construction and the shininess of the polish would dull, but whatever magic that was used on the Sea of Willows must have also been used on the elves' constructions.

The buildings slowly grew more and more frequent, until seemingly out of nowhere we were in the downtown of the Mist Elf capital. The road turned around one of the elegant, slope-sided white stone buildings, and suddenly the lane was surrounded by shops, larger homes, and a network of branching blue stone roadways, all of which had been artfully hidden by the trees and foliage. All around us, dark-haired elves went about their daily business, although there were a few gasps and a bit of commotion as the people going about their day realized who we were. After the incident with the Sentinels, I am very sure that their Princess at the head of a small group of humans, a gnome and a dragonborn was scandalous.

As we weaved through the streets of the town, I was struck by how normal it all was. For all the elves liked to put on airs sometimes, and for all that we were surrounded by carefully crafted beauty in the form of the streets, the trees and the buildings, what people were actually doing remained the same. Here a forge rang with the sound of hammers on steel, there was a tavern that filled the air with rancorous singing and the bustling sounds of people drinking and merrymaking together, and there again a white stone stable where a farrier was bent to the task of measuring a horse's hooves for shoes.

When then the castle came into view, I was awestruck again. A massive shining white dome rose above the trees, decorated with golden, twisting branches and blue stone leaves. Two huge wings swept forward from the main building, enclosing a circular courtyard on three sides. The open side of the courtyard was enclosed by a silver fence and a simple gate, guarded by yet more elven Sentinels. How a building so massive was hidden in this forest could only be chalked up to whatever geographic magic had been used on the whole vale.

The Sentinels bade us halt as we drew nearer to the palace, and bowed deeply to Princess Kythaela. They exchanged some words, but unlike the guards we encountered earlier, for these Sentinels there was no questioning, no disobedience. One went running immediately at Kythaela's order, and the other waved us through the gate.

Haseth lead us through to a side building in the courtyard that served as a stable. It was surprisingly locked down, with silver bars over the windows and barred gates at every entrance. A male and female pair of stablehands greeted us politely, and helped us unpack and unsaddle the horses. The stablehands took away our horses for a good brushing down, and Haseth waved us all aside to where he and Kythaela were standing with another trio of elven servants, two women and a man, in purple and blue livery.

“Thank you again for seeing me home, my friends,” Kythaela told us with a nod. “I must meet with my father and brothers immediately, but this is Siora, Dara and Lewel. They are trusted servants of my house, Siora was practically a sister when I was younger, and they will be pleased to show you to the guest wing. We will see you again tonight, as I'm sure that father will want to have a state dinner to thank you.”  
Siora was a slender girl- well, I say girl even though she's probably at least eighty, but in terms of her body she would seem like a human teenager- who kept her shiny black hair short and tucked behind a demure cream scarf. She didn't have Kythaela's large, liquid eyes, and had high cheekbones that get her a more sophisticated look than even her mistress. Of her companions, Dara was a cheerful and slightly chubbier elf wearing a similar uniform, and Lewel was a tall, severe man who seemed a little snooty.

Introductions made, Siora and Dara offered a curtsy while Lewel bowed deeply at his waist. “Please, no doubt you are tired from such a long journey,” Siora offered in a smooth, breathy voice, speaking barely accented Common, “We will be happy to attend to your needs while you are here.”

“Well, uh, alright,” I answered, but then directed my attention to Kythaela. “You're going to be alright, right?”

The princess gave me a smile that never quite touched her eyes. “Of course. I am home, what danger could possibly befall me? Excuse me.”

She left, heading with Haseth towards the main entrance. Siora and company were already heading towards one of the wings, so there was nothing to do but follow.

We were guided up to the second floor on the wing, and each of us was directed to separate rooms. All off of the same hall. I couldn't really comment on the others', but my room was relatively simple, if luxurious- a sitting room and antechamber with a fireplace, desk and small library, and beyond that a large bedroom dominated by a huge four-poster bed, a washstand, and a heavy chest for my belongings. 

Lewel had been the one to show me around my room. “A bath and tea will be brought up shortly, sir,” he informed me, “If you require anything else, Siora and Dara will be just out in the hall. I generally will be available at nights, if there is anything sir requires after dark.”

“Uh, there is something, if you don't mind,” I asked as I stripped the saddlebags from my shoulders and got ready to unpack, “There should be another human staying here, a woman named Calliope....”

“Ah, of course, sir,” Lewel replied with a short bow. “Forgive me. I understand Lady Calliope has asked after you often, though her activities rarely intersect with my shift. Although if you don't mine my saying so, sir,” he added with a wrinkle of his nose, “You may wish to bathe and await the services of the royal tailor before you complete your reunion.”

“I... thank you,” was all I could reply. I felt a rush warm rush of relief, as if some tension deep in my gut and in my shoulders had just unwound all at once. Calliope had survived being revived. 

It also occurred to me that I had just bathed the night before, although I suppose rinsing off dirt in a wild lake in the middle of nowhere left a lot to be desired in terms of cleanliness. “I'll do that.”

So I unpacked and waited patiently for the bathing equipment to arrive. With little else to do, I drew Calliope's dagger and made sure it was clean, and there was no dried blood or anything in the corners and recesses. I pulled her spellbook out of my saddlebag, laid the dagger on top, and set them aside.

Finally, after half an hour, the tub arrived, a great copper cauldron six feet across being carried by Lewel and a half-dozen other servants. They set it up on the tiled floor on the antechamber, and soon a stream of various servant with steaming buckets of hot water came through to fill the tub. I was half expecting some sort of magical means of heating the water, but I guess even the elves have to do this thing the hard way.

Once the tub was most of the way full, and the servants had mostly gone, Lewel gave me another of his deep bows. “There you are, sir,” he said, “Soap is wrapped in wax paper on the floor, and the tailor shall be around just outside of an hour. I will withdraw from your service until tonight. Farewell.”

As soon as he was gone, I stripped out of my travel stained robes and happily slipped into the warm water. After a week without proper hot water, it felt divine. I closed my eyes and simply soaked for awhile, deciding that despite his snooty looks, maybe Lewel wasn't so bad after all.

I felt I must have dozed, suspended in the water, steaming water, and relaxing from the long journey here. All the aches from spending so much time ahorse seemed to be diffused away by the water itself, and even without even touching the cake of soap that was left for me I somehow felt cleaner already. I was only roused from my stupor when I heard the door to the hall open. “Oh, the tailor, right?” I asked, without opening my eyes, “I'm not quite ready yet, sorry, why don't you go see one of the others?”

A familiar, feminine voice replied, “I don't want any of the others.”

I immediately sat up, splashing water down to the tiled floor. There she was, whole and healthy, her hair tied back with a frilled ribbon and wearing a royal blue courtly gown with a long flared skirt. Calliope gave me a warm smile. “Of course, if you don't want me anymore, I could leave. I know it's been awhile, my prince, but you haven't forgotten me already.”

“I, uh....” I wanted to get up and hug her, but I was sopping wet and still hadn't even cleaned besides. “Sorry, but Lewel, the butler, he recommended that I get proper clean before finding you, and, well....”

Calliope giggled and shook her head. “You remember I was raised on a farm, right? My first crush before you was an older farmhand who smelled like a barn and had the dirt on his hand so worked in that it wouldn't even come out with soap.” She sashayed over to me, leaning over the tub to kiss me. I kissed her back, relishing the feeling of the softness of her lips, her tongue slipping into my mouth and mingling with my own. I could feel myself hardening in the warm water.

When she finally broke the kiss, it was only to plant a second one on my forehead. “I missed you so, Theodore. Dying was... frightening. All I can remember about it is a cold, dark nothingness.” She shook her head, as if that would dispel the bad memory. “And when I came back, it was to strangers. The only thing I wanted was to return to you, but they wouldn't just send me back on a griffon, not knowing exactly where you were. I even begged to go on to Pendleton, and at least meet up with Ashryn and Katriana, but they all but outright said I was being held prisoner for the return of that princess.”

“I missed you, too,” I said, but it didn't seem like enough. “As soon as you were gone, I knew I just had to cut right to the core of the problem. I couldn't stand anything else. I'm just... I'm just so happy to have you back.”

Calliope smiled at me, and caressed my cheek. “I'd love to get reacquainted properly... but we're not going to have a lot of time until tonight, if what Siora told me about dinner is true. I promise, tonight we'll have all the private time we need to catch up.” Her eyes went to the door to my bedroom. “Did you remember to bring my things?”

“Oh, yes, they're in the chest, although I pulled out a few important things and set them aside for you.” I frowned a little, though. It was a little bit of a letdown to find out she was prioritizing getting her stuff back.

Calliope smiled, took one more moment to caress my chest, and kissed me again. “Please don't be jealous, Theodore,” she said, intuiting what I was think, “Later, I promise. I've had a long time to think about what I've wanted to... to communicate to you, and I'm looking forward to catching up.”

She gave me one last kiss and went to retrieve her things. I went for the soap. All of a sudden, I had a lot to look forward to.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Featherfall, Mending, Tenser's Floating Disc  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Belt, Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots, Darts (23), Robes, Dagger, 5 Unidentified Gems, Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Pearl (worth 100gp), Rations (10 meals), Robes (2), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring, Small Tent, Oil of Acid Resistance, mint green potion, Potion of Rainbow Hues

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage), Sorrel (Squire)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	38. Isekai Life & State Dinner

After the bath was done the royal tailor had come and gone, I was outfitted with a new set of clothes that I wasn't entirely comfortable with. I suppose it was true to the setting, but first I was given a set of black hose- a tight clingy pair of pants that were more or less pantyhose, only it wasn't sheer. After months of wearing nothing but robes, the close fabric was hot, itchy and tight in all the whole places. On top on that I was to wear a puffy-sleeved red tunic, which was at least long enough to cover my ass, and a heavy leather belt with bronze studs. They even had given me a new pair of freshly shined boots to wear to dinner. Compared to my usual daily wear, it felt tight and suffocating, but on the other hand....

With the tailor came Dara, looking to gather up my clothes for the laundry. After weeks of fighting goblins and travelling on horseback, they were stained and faded and probably smelled as bad as the rest of me. The only thing they weren't was threadbare or torn- my Mending spell had been put to work frequently during the easier days of our travels to ensure that our clothes weren't falling to tatters- but the cheerful maid clicked her tongue over them nonetheless. But, at least it was being taken care of. She even offered to take my hat and try to scrub a few of the stains out of it, which was fine by me. It had never even occurred to me that a hat would need washing from time to time.

Following all that, I had a little time before dinner, so I figured it was as good a time as any to clean out my bags. I spread everything out on the bed, and took careful inventory. I had snacked through my personal store of iron rations on the road here, but the bottom of my bag was littered with old nuts and dried berries that I was happen to tip out into the chamberpot. My mostly-unused lantern was a little dinged up from travel, and my hand mirror had developed a small crack, but it was tactical hand mirror anyway and would still function just fine.

Since I still didn't have a lock or the Wizard Lock spell, I couldn't anything about my valuable other than trust they still be here. Kythaela seemed to trust these servants, so I decided that I ought to as well, and simply left all my belongings spread out on my bed while I tried in vain to purify the stink of my leather backpack with a bit of leftover soap and my washstand, careful not to splash on my fancy new clothing.

Soon after giving up on that, Dara knocked on my door and announced my formal invite to dine with the royal family. I silently thanked Dog that among the conveniences of “my Heaven” included that my hands didn't become chafed or peeling after all that scrubbing, and went to join my allies who were gathering in the hall. 

As usual, I was the last to arrive. I never realized how slow I was to get ready in my life before becoming Theodore, but I guess that's because I was unused to people wanting to wait for me. I didn't exactly have friends then.

Voss and Raszil were dressed basically like I was, though Raszil's tunic was far too long for his body and dangled down below his knees. Voss' tunic was a dark forest green while Raszil's was a bright blue. Sorrel was wearing a blue dress that hung on her underdeveloped figure in an awkward way that kind of reminded me of cheap prom dresses. Calliope was dressed as she was before, although she had added a gold inlaid choker that it took me a moment to realize was the choker I had given her months before. She barely wore it except occasionally to bed with me, so I was a little surprised to see it out now.

But Yua was a revelation. When we first met her, she was scrawny and badly malnourished to a point where the hunger endured by Kythaela could be called a “rough week”. Recovering was a slow process, especially given how much energy she had to be burning as an adventurer, but over the month or so since then she had begun filling out to a noticeable degree. It was easy to overlook given how she wore Katriana's old scale mail pretty much all the time, but now she was in a pale yellow dress. A tailored dress that expertly followed her curves, and showed off just how sensual her figure was. The dress pushed up her bust at the top, with only a scrap of lace to hide her cleavage, and she was surprisingly busty, easily beating Calliope's modest chest. Her waist was pleasingly tight, though with the strength that Yua has displayed on occasion I would be willing to bet she had a decent set of abs under there. The dress then followed the wide curve of her hips and her full thighs before finally melting into a flared skirt. She looked incredible.

Adding to the overall effect was the fact that she was blushing furiously, staring at the floor, and fidgeting with her skirt. It was pretty adorable.

I tried to tear my sight away from the adorable dragon girl and focus on Calliope. I strode over to her, and took her hands in mine. “You look gorgeous,” I told her, “I'm happy to see you wearing that.”

Calliope smiled shyly and giggled. “You have a strange idea of what I consider important. I understood the spellbook, but... you know that dagger is just a belt knife I stole from my brother when I was twelve, right? It's the least important thing in the world to me.”

I was taken a little aback by that. “Well... I guess it ended up being important to me,” I explained lamely.

“Well, I hope it protected you and served you well,” she replied.

I was trying to think of what to say in reply, when Raszil cleared his throat noisily. I looked up in time to see Siora approaching us.

“Excellent, I'm happy to see that you all are ready,” she said, “The tailor has done his work, then, good. Please, come this way.”

And so, we were whisked off through the halls of the palace, lead by the maid Siora. I realized that I was actually quite hungry, and that with everything going on I had missed lunch entirely. But while I was busy thinking about my stomach, Raszil, who evidently had other things on his mind, hurried forward to walk next to the elven maid.

“Pardon me, miss, but I was wondering who precisely we were going to be having dinner with,” he asked.

“His Majesty the King, of course, as well as Princess Kythaela and the rest of the royal family.,” the maid responded, “Also some high officials of the court. The High Commander, Prime Minster, High Priest and the Court Wizard.”

“I see,” Raszil replied, “And, please, neither myself nor my companions would want to make offence, which of these people should we expect not give us a warm welcome to table?”

Siora paused. “Of course it is not for me to cast aspersions on the royal court, you understand,” she replied, after a short hesitation.

“Of course.”

“But His Grace the second Prince and the Court Wizard should be glad to see you, seeing as how you returned Princess Kythaela to us.”

I grimaced. If I was reading between the lines correctly, that would mean that the majority of these high officials were racist against humans, if not actually part of this conspiracy we suspect might be behind the deadly storms.

Calliope, who had taken my arm for the trip, leaned close and whispered in my ear. “Court Wizard Ailluin has been a particular good host for me. He has even offered to give me some tutelage in new spells, once I had my spellbooks back.”

I frowned. “I hope he hasn't given you too many private lessons....”

She gently squeezed my arm in response. “Now, now, don't be jealous. He is a friend, and possibly an ally. Besides, I am not here wearing his collar, now am I?”

That did settle my jealousy somewhat. I was a little surprised at how strong the urge was when it arose. I guess I'm just a bit hypocritical about my women.

Eventually the tiled floor gave way to polished marble, as we left the wing of the palace and entered the central hub. Siora lead us up a flight of stairs and into a massive hall right under the interior of the dome. The room was lit by the fading sun, reflected into the chamber by cunningly placed bronze panels in the shapes of heroes and animals engaged in an eternal hunt around the inside of the dome. Surrounding the room were columns, between which were suspended tapestries of what I assumed were important moments in mist elf history, coronations, weddings, and speeches.

In the centre of the room, a long stone table was being set by servants. Already seated were three elven men, though none of them occupied the royal seats at the head of the table. They all had the characteristic glossy black hair, and wore fancy courtier outfits. One of them, wearing a dark blue half-cape and a cream coloured tunic, rose and smiled broadly, heading towards us. The other two, wearing forest green and a very light grey respectively, glanced our way but remain seated.

“Ah, Miss Calliope,” the mist elf approaching us said, reaching out to take her hand and kiss it. She smiled warmly at him in response. “And this must be the most famous Theodore,” he followed, offering me a hand to shake, “It is a pleasure to finally meet you. And this must be the mighty Sir Voss, the indomitable Raszil, and this lovely lady the mysterious Yua. Welcome, welcome. I am Ailluin of House Miarix, humble court wizard to His Grace. I do not know the young woman there, but I am honoured to make your acquaintance as well.”

The man's rapid-fire pace of introducing himself to all of us was a little overwhelming, but as I shook his hand in return I tried to recover. Before I could reply, he had already moved on, however.

“This is Sorrel, my squire,” Voss was explaining, while Ailluin seemed to be focused on them. Meanwhile, I noticed, another mist elf, this time a women in a bright green dress decorated with bronze embroidery, joined the two remaining seated at the table. 

When the court wizard's pompous introductions were over, he lead us over to the table. “Please, Sir Voss, Master Theodore, allow me to introduce you to rest of of His Grace's highest advisors,” he said, gesturing at the other three elves. “This is High Priest Travaran of House Trisric, High Commander Sundamar of House Beirin, and last but far from least, our esteemed Prime Minister Caeda Vasys.”

The High Priest and High Commander gave us tight, unfriendly nods of greeting. I could tell them apart by their hairstyle- the man I assume was the High Commander had a short military cut, but the High Priest had long, wavy locks that he held back from his face with a silver circlet, but flowed own the rest of his head in a thick cascade. Now we were closer, I could see there were badges pinned to their chests, the High Commander a blackbird on a white background, and the High Priest a green tree with outspread branches on a field of pale yellow.

The woman, whose own hair was bound in a tight bun, offered a warmer smile. She was definitely on the older side for an elf, with fine crow's feet former at the corners of her eyes despite her ageless elven features. Her dress was fine but conservative, and her badge was a rust red dragon on brown.“I've been told you are the people we have to thank for bringing our itinerant princess back to us. Thank you for your service. It is uncommon to find such bravery, prowess and kindness among your kind.”

“Uh... thank you,” I replied, ducking my head in acknowledgement. I was content to leave it at that, but not everyone felt the same.

“Thank you, Minister Caeda,” Raszil replied, sitting up straight enough on his vastly oversized chair to give her a positively venomous smile across the place settings, “We count ourselves very fortunate to be here, being feted by the legendary hospitality of the elves.”

The Prime Minister's expression sharpened like a knife. She opened her mouth to respond, but that's when one of the door opened, admitting a herald who, in elven, announced, “Presenting, Princess Kythaela! Prince Falaen! Prince Alwyn! His Majesty, Kindroth Ilistina, the Mist-King!”

We all rose, of course- that part of protocol was the same here as elsewhere. The royal family entered in procession, the children in ascending order of birth, followed by the king himself. Kythaela was wearing a lilac purple and blue gown that seemed much better suited to her figure than Sorrel's, despite having a similar lack of curves. Her layered skirt compensated for her lack of hips, and a strapless bodice would have to be tight even on a busty woman, so it pushed up what little assets she had. Her two older brother wore outfits similar to the rest of the men, in the same purple and silver colour scheme, but with badges featuring a blue fox on a background of that same shade of light purple. Kythaela's brothers were of a pair, nearly identical as far as I could tell. The younger brother had an easy smile and an air of grace, while the elder had a strict, grim look and a prominent birthmark near the corner of his mouth. Kythaela herself... had the same expression she ever did, but now her eyes were downcast, focused on the floor a few feet in front of her.

The king was an older, somehow more severe version of his eldest son. His ensemble was topped with a heavy velvet cape and, of course, a silver crown studded with black onyx. As his daughter and two sons took up their proper positions at the table, the came a stood before the high seat.

“Welcome, councillors and friends alike. Today is a momentous occasion. My daughter, Princess Kythaela, has been returned to me,” he announced in a deep, booming voice. “The people who have to thank for this are the ever-vigilant Ravenwatch, and these handful of strangers, who put their lives at risk to rescue my daughter from peril. Please, your fallen friend has been returned to you, so let us enjoy dinner tonight as friends.”

We muttered our thanks. Despite his kind words, it was still a chilly atmosphere, with these officials frowning at us. But it was nice that he was granting us a reward in addition to raising Calliope.

The king sat, and gestured for everyone else to sit also. The only one who refused was the elder Prince.

“Forgive me, father, but something has put me off my food,” he said imperiously, “Something in here smells... rank. I'll take my meal in the solar.”

The king gave the prince a stern look, narrowing his eyes. I braced myself for an argument to break out, but the king simply waved a hand and slumped in his chair. “Very well,” was the only response.

“If it pleases Your Majesty, a member of the royal family shouldn't dine alone,” The High Commander said, also standing. 

“Yes, yes, fine,” the king allowed, waving his hand to dismiss the commander as he and the prince left. “Well, now, let's get on with the dinner.”

The dinner was miserably awkward from there. I don't think anyone enjoyed themselves. On our end of the table, it was quite clear to my companions and I that we were not wanted by the majority of people here. Of the remaining three members of the royal court, two of them very obviously did not want us here, either. 

Dinner was surprisingly sparse. I'm not sure what I expected, but there wasn't really a main course so much as a long line of salads and vegetable dishes, accompanied by nuts and delicate cheeses. It was delicious, certainly, and I ate more than my fill, but after so long it felt really odd not to eat a meal that wasn't centred on a course involving meat or bread in some form. 

There wasn't a lot of conversation until dessert was served, some kind of baked apple half, roasted in honey and topped with melty cheese that tasted pretty close to brie. That was when the remaining prince chose to speak up, giving me a friendly smile down the dinner table. “How long are our heroes going to be staying? I think it would be appropriate if you were to hold an official ceremony thanking them, don't you think, Father? Perhaps on the morrow?”

The king cleared his throat. “I had thought to give you all a reward for the return of my daughter,” he said thoughtfully, “Perhaps a ceremony before the court would be appropriate, to thank you all. I shall have to think on how to best thank you all.”

“Um,” interjected Sorrel, “I didn't really do anything, so, please, skip me when it comes to rewards.”

“And so humble!” Prince Falaen replied with approval. “Surely, Father, we must celebrate such grand adventurers.”

“Yes, I should think so,” the king agreed, “You can enjoy the last few days of summer here, and when you choose to leave I'll see you amply rewarded for the return of Kythaela.”

“Thank you, Your Grace,” I replied carefully, but before I continue I was interrupted by the sound of a fist slamming on the table.

The High Priest stood, looking at the king. “I must protest, Your Majesty. I cannot abide this any longer,” he said in elven, pointing a finger in my direction. “The only reward they have earned is perhaps their lives. Bad enough that you asked me to arrange for the raising of your other pet human. Their unclean presence befouls our sacred soil, and to give them what rightfully belongs to our people as a reward is a foolish waste akin to showering a dog with gold. I beg of your grace, please dispose of your... guests... before they taint our land further!”

Silence reigned. We all froze. The king, who looks so powerful at the beginning of the meal when he strode into the room, was staring at his hands, as if wishing that the situation would just go away.

“Please, Priest Travaran, these people saved my sister's life,” the prince replied when it became clear his father didn't intend to reply. “Does Princess Kythaela's life mean so little to you?”

“Does it mean so much to you?” the priest accused in return. “Perhaps a month ago, before Kythaela disappeared with her bodyguard, but who knows what 'rewards' she has already doled out to her rescuers in the time since. The lust and perversion of the human species is quite well known.”

“What precisely are you implying?”

“I imply nothing!” the priest roared, “I am outright telling you, humans do nothing without promise of reward! They are nothing but greedy, lustful savages, this is well known. There are two human men here and If they have escorted the princess here, then likely they have already helped themselves.” He switched to pointing at Kythaela. “I accuse Princess Kythaela of the crime of high treason, for offering her body to her so-called 'rescuers' and thereby defiling the royal bloodline. She is nothing but a whore for humans, whose presence is as filthy and intolerable as the rest!”

A lot of things happened at once. Voss rose to his feet, hands balled into fists, and started moving around the table towards the High Priest. Prince Falaen began shouting something, but I wasn't paying attention to what it was, because Kythaela put her head in her hands and began wailing loudly. Calliope glanced in my direction, but I had no idea what to do.

I heard the chanting of magic, and Ailluin gestured, and an unseen force whisked Voss off his feet and left him hanging in the air a foot off the ground, unable to move any closer to the High Priest. This didn't get unnoticed by him, who now gestured at Voss and entreated the king, “Wee? Look at what these barbarians have tried to do in your presence, violating the sanctity of your hospitality. Your Grace, throw these dogs out of our sacred home and have your daughter examined for violation as the Old Law demands!”

“Enough!” The king roared, rising from the table, “I have had it! The lot of you, get out! Falaen, see your sister to her room, and servants, bring our guests back to their chambers! As for you, Travaran, we will deal with your accusations on the morrow, but for now I have had enough!”

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Featherfall, Mending, Tenser's Floating Disc  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt (2), Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots (2), Darts (23), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Oil of Acid Resistance, Pearl (worth 100gp), Potion of Rainbow Hues, Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Tunic and Hose, Unidentified Gems (5), Unidentified Mint Green Potion, Wedding Ring

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Sorrel (Squire)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	39. Isekai Life & Stark Realities

“Well, that was just short of a disaster,” Raszil muttered, eyeing Voss as we were escorted through the halls of the Mist King's palace, escorted by Siora... and now two armed guards. Sentinels, I noted, not the Ravenwatch which supposedly served the royal family directly. 

“He was accusing us of turning that poor girl into some kind of sex slave,” Voss replied, “What was I supposed to do, just let that happen?”

“I understand your feelings, Voss, but attempting to assault the king's High Priest was not the way to handle that,” Calliope pointed out.

“If you allow a lie to rest unanswered, it will put out roots,” Yua countered.

“Well, there are better ways of going about it.”

“Let's focus on the important things here, everyone,” I interjected before people could get to arguing, “Princess Kythaela is accused of treason, and our heads might be on the chopping block next.” I turned my head to look at one of the Sentinels, and switched to elven. “Pardon me, but are there any charges being levied at us?”

“None... yet,” came the response, “We will see how the assembly finds you in the morning.” 

“We're not being charged yet,” I translated for everyone else, “But the guard implied that we might be on the hook as of tomorrow, so we had best think of our defence now.”

“Oh, good,” Voss replied, “If only we knew a damn thing about their system of law. Where the hell is Haseth, anyway? He's a witness in our favour, and you know he wouldn't take this accusation against Princess Kythaela lying down.”

That was a good question- the elven knight hadn't been seen since we arrived that morning. I hoped he didn't get caught up in some kind of conspiratorial masterstroke by these guys who obviously had it out for both us and Kythaela.

“We're going to have to sit down and share information,” Calliope suggested, “Obviously I've missed something with regard to the princess and this... other fellow. And I can catch you up on what I know about what's going on here.”

I nodded to that, but I was acutely aware of the Sentinels walking with us. Just because they refused to speak in common, that didn't mean they couldn't understand it.

When we had returned to “our” corner of the palace, the Sentinels took up guard positions- one at the top of the stair at the far end of the hall, that we ascended earlier to get up here from the courtyard, and the other standing in the middle of the hallway from where we just came. The intention was obvious- we weren't going anywhere with one of the Sentinels knowing.

“Come on,” I said, waving people towards me, “We can discuss things in private in my room. Siora, would you please get us refreshments? Thank you.”

The elven maid bobbed a brief curtsy and gave me a small smile. “Of course, Sir Theodore, I'd be honoured to.”

In the meantime, I was herding my entire party into the sitting area of my little suite, away (hopefully) from the hearing of those guards. I realized that could have some obscure or setting-unique magic item that left them spy on us... to say nothing of just standard scrying. This whole situation was making me feel paranoid.

Once the door was shut and we were (theoretically) alone, I rounded on the party. “Okay, so, this is bad. The guards that were escorting us seemed to think that we're going to be charged tomorrow during this... trial? Hearing? Whatever it is that's happening tomorrow.”

“Of course we're going to be charged,” Raszil replied bitterly, “We already know what they'll find when they examine that poor girl, after the hell she's been through. And we also don't know this kingdom's laws, so we haven't the least idea of how to defend ourselves.”

“But you're... we're... everyone here is innocent, right?” Sorrel asked, “That should count for something, right?”

“When you are seated before the God of Judgement, perhaps,” Raszil replied patiently, “But in my experience laws serve the people who write them, not some larger idea of 'right' or 'justice'.”

“Excuse me, but I think it would help a little if everyone were to catch me up,” Calliope interjected, “What happened to the princess, and what does it have to do with you all?”

“After you... after we sent you here with Seran, we recovered for a day, then immediately went with this other elf-knight to deal with the goblins directly,” I explained, still finding it difficult to speak about Calliope's death, even though she was standing right in front of me, whole and healthy, “We infiltrated the tower that the goblins were using as a base, and after... well, a lot of fighting, we managed to rescue Princess Kythaela and a number of other people enslaved by the goblins, including some of Kythaela's bodyguard.”

“That's the missing company of Ravenwatch, right?” Calliope asked, “All the royal guards are technically Ravenwatch, but I understand that the ones assigned to the Princess vanished with her?”

“Yeah, we don't have a complete story, but from what it sounds like the princess ran off with her personal bodyguard,” Voss explained, “They attacked the goblin camp, and mostly got captured or killed, including Princess Kythaela. Two of them, a man named Haseth and the knight who brought you here, Seran, got away. We made a deal, Seran would get you raised from the dead while we helped Haseth free the princess.”

“Alright,” Calliope nodded, “I think I understand. And from what Raszil said, you rescued the princess, but not before....”

“Yes.” Sorrel's voice suddenly sounded thick and strained. I turned to her, and was surprised to see a pained expression on her face. Normally she was bratty and defiant, but now I could see that was just a front, and right now, that front was lifted. “The goblin chief would take women. Always one at a time. And after a few days, come get another. We never saw the others. At first it was farmwives and girls, but the chief, he was mad at the elves. Really mad.” Her voiced cracked then, and the young squire squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath before continuing, “There were three women among the princess' bodyguards. One by one, they all volunteered, to protect her.”

Silence reigned as the implication of that statement settled in. No wonder Kythaela looked so haunted all the time. Three people who she had probably known her entire life had submitted to rape and torture for her, just to buy her a little more time. And in the end, it almost didn't save her- who knew how much longer she would have held out before I rescued her?

Calliope shook her head, and approached the younger girl. “I'm sorry you had to live through that, Sorrel, was it?” Gently, Calliope took Sorrel in her arms, and held her, while the younger girl shook like a leaf. Soon, the unmistakable sound of the young girl crying filled the room.

I felt a tug on my sleeve. It was Raszil, who had sidled up to me while I was in thought. “Theodore, it occurs to me that this is all very neat,” he said in a hushed voice, “Accusations about Kythaela's virginity after her... encounter... with a goblin chieftain who has preferences outside his species.”

I did a double take, looking at Calliope trying to comfort Sorrel then back to the gnome. “What are you getting at?” I asked, similarly hushed.

“I'm wondering about how Kythaela learned about these goblins, who told her,” Raszil replied, “And I'm suddenly worried about our missing friend Sir Haseth, and what has happened with him now that he's suddenly and inconveniently showed up with an mostly-intact princess, and the complete strangers who rescued her.”

I frowned. “You think someone would try to kill him?”

“If I'm correct in my suppositions, and he is what he seems to be, he would be a reliable witness for us of good reputation, not to mention a steadfast ally of the princess,” he replied, “And unlike the princess, one knight going missing in the night is not likely to stir the king into a rage.”

“I understand what you're getting at, but we're under guard right now. What can we do?” I asked.

Raszil patted my arm. “Suleyar will provide. I was mainly wanting you to know where exactly I intended to be.” Then, the gnome added with a grin, “Avenge my death if I never return, would you?”

With that, the gnome headed for the door to the hall. I heard a brief, “Gentlemen! There you are! I think we....” before Raszil shut the door with a soft click.

My that time, Sorrel had calmed down a bit. Voss had joined Calliope, and the two flanked the poor girl, talking soothingly to her while she wiped her running eyes with a handkerchief. As she noticed my conference with Raszil was concluded, Calliope crossed the room back to me. “Sorrel seems a little... finished for today. Voss and I are going to get her ready for bed, alright?”

I nodded in reply, then remembered what Raszil had said about inconvenient people. “It's probably for the best that nobody sleeps alone tonight. I hate to ask, but do you mind looking after her all night?”

Calliope looked back to the girl and the knight, then back to me. “I do mind,” she said, squeezing my hand, “I've been away from you so long, don't ask me to pass up the chance to sleep beside you again. We can trust Voss, can't we?”

I gave it some thought. “Yeah, I think we can. He definitely didn't take her on because she titillated him, and he's not the kind of guy who's into little girls anyway. It should be fine as long as Sorrel is comfortable with him sleeping in the same room. She's the one we ought to be concerned about.”

Calliope nodded briefly, then looked around before tilting her head. “Where did Raszil go?”

“He wanted to go...” I started, but then had to stop myself. Raszil wanted me to know where he went... but what if something happened to Calliope? If she was questioned? It seemed to me it was better if only one of us had to lie. “...Get an early night,” I finished smoothly, “After all, we all have to get our magic out to have spells better suited to this situation, and his holy rituals work best when he's alone, it seems.”

“That... makes sense. Certainly he's never spoken of his spellcasting or religious rituals to me,” she shrugged in reply, “I suppose that comes with the territory, being a priest to the literal God of Secrets.”

“Yeah, so, why don't you get Sorrel squared away,” I suggested, “Meanwhile, I'll stay here and explain the situation to Yua. A lot of this probably went over her head, and, well, I may need to be diplomatic. Who knows what strange culture mores she might have that relate to this whole situation.”

“It might also take some convincing to make her go sleep on Raszil's floor,” Calliope added, “She is so protective of you, after all.”

I hadn't even thought of that. I couldn't very well send Yua to go sleep in Raszil's room alone, but with my lie I couldn't send her to stay with Voss and Sorrel either, and while the mood wasn't great for sex, I doubt Calliope wanted another girl who wasn't a wife or lover in the room with us as we slept.

“Uh, yeah, that too,” was the lame response I offered, wondering just how I was going to figure my way out this without admitting to Calliope on our first day back together that I was already lying to her.

\---------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Featherfall, Mending, Tenser's Floating Disc  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt (2), Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots (2), Darts (23), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Oil of Acid Resistance, Pearl (worth 100gp), Potion of Rainbow Hues, Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Tunic and Hose, Unidentified Gems (5), Unidentified Mint Green Potion, Wedding Ring

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Sorrel (Squire)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	40. Isekai Life & Comfort Sex

As it turned out, I shouldn't have worried so much about explaining things to Yua.

“Someone is trying to have the sharp-eared princess killed, and since the goblins failed to do it, they are accusing her of terrible things,” she said in her own tongue as she summed up my explanation, having a little difficulty with the 'goblin' and avoiding the use of 'elf' entirely. “My lord and his loyal knight may also be implicated, but even if that is not so, we cannot allow this injustice to stand.” That last was a statement, not a question. It made me even more certain than ever of her paladin-hood.

“Right, and, well, for protection, the rest of us have decided that none of us can be left alone, in case of someone trying to kill us when we're separated,” I began, but as it turned out I needn't have worried about continuing my lie.

“I insist I stay with you, my Lord,” Yua said firmly, reaching out to grasp my sleeve. Her expression seemed... conflicted, however. I was expecting her to be determined, or to have a begging look as she prepared to deny being dismissed, but instead her eyes flickered between meeting my gaze and looking away, almost as if she was ashamed of something.

“Are you sure? I'll have Lady Calliope with me, so I won't be alone,” I explained.

“Y-yes, my Lord,” she said, again appearing torn. “I am sorry to come between you and your lady, and I know I will be an.. inconvenience, but for the sake of my honour I must insist.”

I sighed with relief. At least Yua wasn't dense, and knew what her staying here meant for me. “Alright, I'll explain things to Calliope. I'm sure she'll understand.”

In the meantime, I had to get rid of some of my spells. Knock, Featherfall, Mending, Floating Disc... excellent choices for travelling overland, even day to day life, but not good ones for defending oneself in a trial, maybe even having to fight our way out of enemy territory. So, while we waited for Calliope to return, I did the only thing a wizard in AD&D could do when he had spell slots he wanted to free up: cast them. Luckily, all the spells except for the one I wanted to keep were harmless. Plus, AD&D had comparatively loose targeting restrictions compared to other editions- I didn't have to be falling to make myself the target of Featherfall, for example.

Yua was giving me strange looks so I had to explain what I was doing, though. That was a little embarassing.

Soon enough, Calliope returned, giving me a little smile. “Sorrel is trying to get to bed a little early,” she explained, “Voss is going to be up for awhile, but he said he has a lot of weapon maintenance to catch up on from the past week of travelling, so he'll be fine for awhile.”

I wonder why Calliope thought to add that last bit? “Uh, about Yua,” I said gesturing at the dragonborn girl, “She refuses to sleep anywhere else tonight, says it would dishonour her to abandon me when there's danger.”

Calliope gave Yua a sidelong look. Yua stared back for a moment, but eventually looked away and started fidgeting under my lover's stare and started fidgeting. There was a long silence, where I was beginning to wonder if Calliope was angry or something, but eventually she relented. Sighing under her breath, she muttered something- I think part of it was “Katriana”- and then pointed at the one of the sofas in the room.

“You may sleep here, and guard the door,” she said firmly, “But Theodore and I staying in the bed.”

Yua nodded wordlessly, even seeming to bow deferentially before she caught herself. “Yes, I... I understand,” she added hastily.

Calliope smiled warmly. “Good,” she said, taking me by the wrist, “Now, Theodore and I are getting an early night, you should consider doing the same. Tomorrow is going to be a long, hard day.”

I found myself getting pulled into the bedroom by Calliope, a little bewildered considering the topic of conversation in our group chat, just an hour previous. My assumption about her intentions proved true, when, the moment the door to the bedroom clicked shut behind her, she practically leapt into my arms, pushing my back against the door and kissing me deeply. It wasn't merely a passionate kiss, either- her tongue played against my lips for a moment before slipping in to meet mine, before she broke off just as abruptly.

“Sorry, for that,” she breathed, almost panting as she released me and stepped back, “You must think I'm so terribly slutty for doing that.”

“I am a little confused,” I said, shaking my head, “Not that I mind kissing you, Calliope, but what's gotten into you? We were just talking about... what happened with the princess, and now you're like this. What happened?”

Calliope fidgeted nervously. “I know, I know, there must be something wrong with me... it's just...” she trailed off, collecting her thoughts. “I've been away from you for so long,” she finally began anew, “And finally when I had a chance to get you all to myself, without your sister or Ashryn in the way, we spend so much time travelling and crowded in with others, that we hardly get to do anything, and... I've been waiting for this for so long, when you'd come back to me and we'd finally would have a measure of privacy again.”

“There's more,” she added after a moment, “I know Sorrel got upset and what she and the princess went through was awful, but... it made me realize all the more how important you are to me. How blessed I am to be a part of your life, even if I can't have you entirely to myself.” She shook her head, as if to dismiss a bad thought. “It makes me sound like a flighty bookworm who's read too many romance novels, but... I need you to make love to me. I want to connect with you, to be reminded that, no matter how ugly the things we see as adventurers are, there are people in this world who can love each other and care for one another no matter how awful this world gets.”

I was stunned, and could only stand and gape at her with my mouth open. She must have seen my expression, because suddenly she looked away and shuffled her feet. “Sorry, I guess that's been building up for awhile....”

I stepped forward and took her into my arms. One my hands softly cradled her head, enjoying the silky feeling of her hair. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and brought her close, kissing her lightly on the bridge of her nose.

She put her arms around my wait and clung to me. “I love you, Theodore,” she sighed into my arms.

“I love you, too,” I whispered in reply.

We stayed like that for a long time, with me just enjoying the warmth of her hug and and the sweet scent of her body. Outside, I could see the moon rising very the trees just outside the palace gates, reflecting off the pale white quartz of the buildings beyond. I took a deep breath, and decided that, yes, despite everything, I wanted to be with Calliope, too.

I moved by hands to her shoulders, and eased the straps of her gown off, down her arms. She sighed in my arms, her hands travelling behind her back to pull at the laces back there that help her gown in place. The heavy layered fabric of the court dress tumbled to the ground, and the way that the moonlight highlighted the contours of her body, naked except for her hair ribbon and choker, took my breath away.

Getting me out of my court dress was a much less romantic affair. Why would I ever bother wearing pants again after how easy it was to get in and out of a robe? By the the time I was able to kick my bunches up hose away, Calliope's hand was already cradling my cock, stroking me softly as she coaxed me to readiness. Her lips kissed a staccato pattern down my neck and chest, and I shivered from the contact. Such intimacy after so long without had a euphoric effect on me, and soon I had seized her around the shoulders once more, this time to kiss her deeply, our tongues dancing.

Calliope took over from there, pulling me eagerly towards the bed and gently pushing me down upon it. I scooted up so my head and shoulders rested on the pillows, meanwhile Calliope stalked up on all fours to bring her warm, moist mouth down over the tip of my cock. 

The pace of her blowjob was long, slow and deliberate compared to the passionate exhalation of previous confession. Her tongue swirled across the head of my cock on every upstroke, and on every down her lips tightened invitingly around the girth of my shaft. I moaned as softly as I could. Part of me wanted to grab her head and drive my hips upwards, using her for my pleasure and ending it right there, but I struggled to remember that this is what Calliope had wanted- a slow, intense expression of our love.

When my rod popped free of her mouth and she began to move up my body it was almost a relief. My whole body seemed to throb with need, but I also knew my personal predilections, and if I took back the initiative, it'd be to control and get what I wanted, how I wanted it. Not that doing that couldn't be loving, but Calliope seemed to know what she had in mind.

When she delicately took hold of my cock, and placed it at the entrance to her pussy, I was already aching for her to continue. I slid into her hungry sex with ease, and Calliope and I intertwined our fingers so she could keep balance while she rode me. The soft, wet velvet of her pussy felt like a dream, and we moaned together. Like the blowjob, Calliope set a languid pace, and together we simply enjoyed what it meant to be connected as lovers, and how it felt.

I was so lost in the sensation, I almost didn't hear the click of the door. My eyes darted away from Calliope's body to the door to the bedroom. I couldn't see much because of the darkness, but I did see a shadowy figure outlined by the candlelight of the other room.

Calliope sighed, although it wasn't entire frustrated. “I thought this might happen,” she explained to me in a hushed voice, “”You seem to have that way around women, somehow.”

I shook my head, finally realizing just what was going on. “Oh... sorry...”

“It's alright. You're her rescuer, after all,” Calliope said, twisting herself on my cock enticingly, “No wonder she takes to you like a lost pet. You may as well invite her in. That is, if you want her.”

Did I want Yua? It felt a little dirty, since our entire group were basically all that she knew until she found her home. But at the same time, she was very sweet and very sexy. “Yes, I think I do want her,” I replied, and then I cleared my throat. “Yua, come in where I can see you.”

The dragonborn girl slipped inside, candlelight glittery briefly on her skin. She came and stood a respectful distance away, looking flushed and flustered. Immediately she went down on her knees, pressing her forehead to the floor, and mumbled something I could hear.

“Louder, please,” Calliope asked, “If you're going to say something to us, please do it so we can hear.”

It bewildered me a little to be in this situation where my cock was still jammed inside Calliope while she gave orders to someone else, but I can't say that I minded that.

Yua raised her head a little. “I'm sorry, My Lord, I was only coming to see what was the commotion, to make sure you were safe....”

Calliope chuckled. “Darling, don't lie, to yourself or to us. If you we seeking to protect my prince, where is you weapon and why are you wearing only a slip?”

Yua flushed somehow even more deeply. I realized she was only wearing the thin undergarment of the court dress that had been forced on her- not unusual, as pajamas went, but she had hardly girded herself to fight an assassin. I suppose she couldn't have instantly donned her armour, but she did have a sword, which as Calliope noted was absent.

The dragon girl just fidgeted, maintaining her silence.

Calliope sighed again, a little more annoyed. “Yua, dear, it's alright. We have a complicated relationship, Theodore and I, and others. If it's what you want, maybe you can be part of it, too.”

“R-really?” Yua sat up straighter, startled by this new information.

“Yes,” Calliope continued, “Katriana is Theodore's wife, and Ashryn is... Ashryn and I are betrothed to Theodore. He is kind and loving to us all, and we support each other.” Calliope's easy smile widened into a naughty smirk. “And we all share Theodore's bed, sometimes together, sometimes alone with him.”

“Together!?” Yua squeaked. I had to admit it was cute, seeing her normal stoicism completely absent, and the mixture of scandal, shame, and interest warring for supremacy on her face.

“Yes, together,” Calliope confirmed.

“Sorry if this isn't what you were dreaming about, Yua,” I said softly, feeling a bad for the poor girl, “But one day I'm going to be a king, and I already have a king's appetites.”

“M-m-my Lord can do as he pleases, and... oh... a king!?” she once again dropped to the floor, pressing her head against the ground.

Calliope shook her head. “It's okay, Yua, really,” she explained, “He's a king in exile. One of the things we want to do is to take back his throne, eventually. And even if he was a full king, he wouldn't want you to behave like this, please look at us.”

Reluctantly, Yua straightened once again, though she didn't look directly at us.

“She's going to take some training, I guess,” Calliope remarked.

“I suppose so,” I replied, “But I'm willing to be patient. Let me try.” I turned my head back to the dragonborn girl, tried to summon up an authoritative tone of voice, and said, “Yua, I'm willing to be with you if you want, but Calliope gets first turn tonight. Alright?”

“N-no...” Yua squeaked, fidgeting and looking more ashamed than ever, “You can't do that before marriage, it wouldn't be right... I-I don't want to be impure....”

She's not saying no, I realized. “Well, alright, Calliope and I will finish, and you can decide for yourself how long you want to stay there.”

Without needing any more invitation, Calliope started sliding her hips again. My penis had gone slack from the distraction, but it didn't take long for her to coax me back to hardness. I thought it would be a bit awkward, with Yua watching, but I guess because we had group sex so often with Ashryn and Katriana it seemed perfectly natural.

Once I was fully erect, Calliope released my hands, leaning over so that she could kiss me while I thrust my cock up into her. But after a few soft kisses, she whispered in my ear, “Katriana would be very unhappy with you if you went ahead and started doing things with Yua without her approval.”

I grimaced. That was true. It was easy to forget my promise to her, with how submissive my wife-sister was. “Yeah, okay, I'll keep it restrained, alright?”

“I don't know,” Calliope sighed into my ear, “I kind of want to see you take Yua's virg- ah, right there, just like that, please!”

I must have hit some kind of perfect rhythm, because Calliope could only hold herself still and moan while I thrust deep into her. Eventually, her back arched and and pushed back against my cock. At this rate I didn't know much much longer I cold take it.

I abruptly realized that Yua had gotten up off the floor. She was standing at the corner of the bed, watching us with lidded eyes, and panting as she rubbed her sex against the the tapered end of the bedpost. She wasn't penetrating herself- “too impure”, I guess- but she was grinding hard and moaning herself as she watched us.

All three of us climaxed nearly at once. I can't remember who started- if I finally exploded into Calliope, if Calliope's climaxing pussy triggered me, or if Yua's noisy orgasm set us both off. With a deep groan I unleashed a hot wave of semen into Calliope's wet, trembling sex while Yua moaned and humped the bedpost. It had been so long that my orgasm seemed long and lingering, pumping up more than a week's worth of pent-up passion and frustration- and sperm- into Calliope's loving, warm, soft body.

Maybe it was the long day, maybe it was the intensity of the act, but as it turned out, as Calliope roll off to the side and cuddled up against me, all I want to do was sleep. I wasn't entirely inconsiderate of Yua's needs, though. Almost vacantly, I patted the bed next to me, and a moment later the paladin girl obediently crawled into bed and cuddled up opposite of Calliope. She, too, seemed spent.

Surrounded for the first time in a long time by loving women, it was easy to sleep quickly, deeply and well.  
\--------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human  
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level):  
(2nd Level): Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt (2), Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots (2), Darts (23), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Oil of Acid Resistance, Pearl (worth 100gp), Potion of Rainbow Hues, Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Tunic and Hose, Unidentified Gems (5), Unidentified Mint Green Potion, Wedding Ring

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Sorrel (Squire)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't feel right to have some dark discussion of rape and follow it immediately with sex, so I split it into two chapters.
> 
> Have to admit, I am very out of my element. When I decided to do the whole "broken bird rape victim has to be rescued from honor killing" thing it did not occur to me exactly how out of my element I would end up being. My non-fanfic work Master of the Kingdom is more my forte- nonconsent, yes, but a safe, consumer friendly version to be enjoyed by those who like that sort of thing. The kind of "nonconsent" you might roleplay out with a willing partner.
> 
> Having to come to grips with the realities of sexual assault contributed a great deal to my writer's block over the past few weeks, which is part of why the updates have been so slow. Hopefully this provides an opportunity for me to grow as a writer.
> 
> Either way, if you've been waiting for more My Isekai Life in D&D, I apologize profusely for my lack of communication and productivity. I hope you enjoy the newest two chapters and come back for more soon.


	41. Isekai Life & The Trial

Chapter 41: Isekai Life & The Trial

I was gently shaken awake, earlier than usual, by a concerned Calliope. “I'm sorry, Theodore, I know you like to sleep in, but we need to be ready for anything, today,” she reminded me, her voice low nd conspiratorial. I nodded numbly as I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Kythaela's... trial, or whatever it was, would be happening today, and I had to make ready.

I was prepared for things between Yua, Calliope and I to be awkward after the previous night, but she actually greeted me fairly warmly, smiling to when I stumbled into the sitting room after getting dressed. She was already armed and armoured, the black alchemically treated steel of her greatsword sitting across her lap as she knelt before the fireplace. Her smile was a quick flash and then gone, as she lowered her head in some kind of meditative pose. I couldn't blame her for doing it, though, we'd all need our focus today.

Thanks to Calliope diligently waking me up when the dawn was still fresh outside, we had plenty of time to prepare spells and make ourselves presentable. While Calliope stuck to the court gown she had worn the night before, after brushing it down with a damp cloth to smooth out some of the wrinkles, and while I wanted nothing to do with the silly looking elven court garb, I did slip into one of my more presentable robes. For armaments, I slipped a few darts up one of my sleeves, and Calliope strapped her dagger into place around her ankle. And of course, we conferred quietly before prepared what spells we could that might be useful in court... or in fighting our way free.

When the elven Sentinels stormed into the room, intending perhaps to find us indolent and caught off guard, instead we were well prepared and ready for them.

“The King desires your presence, sir,” the leader of the Sentinels, one of the guards who happened to escort us back to our rooms last night, sneered at us in elven. 

“As His Grace desires,” Calliope replied smoothly, and the three of us filed out of the room obediently, but not meekly, ahead of the Sentinels.

Raszil, Sorrel and Voss were already roused from their rooms, but I was gratified to see that Voss and Sorrel, at least, were not taken by surprise. Voss looked downright resplendent in freshly polished plate, with his spear and magical shield strapped in place at his back. Sorrel only wore her simple farmer's blouse, but she had found a pair of trousers somewhere, and seemed a little more confident with Voss' spare longsword strapped to her back. Only Raszil look ruffled at all, with dark circles under his eyes, but he greeted us in good spirits.

“Good morning, Theodore, and the good lady Calliope,” he said with a small bow, “And thank you again, Lady Yua for, leaving me alone to rest last night. I do have so much trouble sleeping when I don't get a mattress to myself.”

The reasoning was thin, and between Voss and the Sentinels I wasn't sure exactly who he was trying protect Yua's reputation from, but I'm glad he attempted something. Yua, for her part, looked away and mumbled her thanks.

I gave Raszil a nod, then looked to Voss. “Are you ready?” I asked.

“Yeah, as ready as we're going to be,” Voss said, giving me a nod in turn, “I know this all seems dire, but I think we've been in a worse fix.”

“Remember, though, that Enna, Ashryn and Katriana isn't only a few minutes away to save us,” Calliope added bitterly.

Voss cracked a smile at that, “Fair enough, but these guys haven't ever killed a dragon before, so I think that puts a mark up on us.”

“Get moving,” the lead Sentinel barked in elven, forcing us to follow him, surrounded by our escort of Sentinels, down the stairs and through the corridors of the palace. There were a dozen of them, which seemed to me like an unnecessary display of strength, but at least they weren't so nakedly trying to intimidate us that they'd order us disarmed.

Raszil matched his pace to mine. “I met with our friend last night,” he said to me, quietly, in dwarven, “He was in a cell, but seems healthy enough.”

I blinked in surprised. How did Raszil find out I knew dwarven? “Good,” I replied, “I'm glad he's healthy. Not happy about the cell part, though.”

“I have a feeling that it might not be just the princess we end up having to rescue,” Raszil shot back.

I nodded. Whatever happened to Kythaela, her protector might end up responsible for allowing to happen. It made a slightly twisted kind of sense. “You weren't caught, then?”

“Oh, I was caught almost immediately,” Raszil said, “But I had a timely rescuer from our good friend, the maid Siora. It was her who helped escort me to our good friend.”

The guard leader turned to glare over his shoulder, and barked at us again. “No talking!”

Well, at least it seemed like we might have more real allies than we thought, if the maid was willing to help Raszil sneak around the palace. I couldn't even imagine what kind of danger that would put her in, from her own people.

We arrived outside a pair of tall, wooden doors, carved with geometric patterns and flanked with purple-caped members of the Ravenwatch on guard. There were glares exchanged between the two groups of elven soldiery- clearly there was an element of inter-service rivalry at play, to say nothing of their possible political divide. But whatever was at the heart of that rivalry, it didn't stop the Ravenwatch guards from pushing the huge doors open and allowing us entrance into the palace's throne room.

The room was round, obviously the lower level of the huge domed space on the level above that we had dined in the night before. On a raised dais at the far side of the room, King Kindroth sat in a tall, polished wooden throne carved in a similar manner to the doors we just passed through. Next to his throne stood the severe figure of Prime Minister Caeda, holding, for some reason, an ornate leaf-bladed spear and a hand bell. Behind him hung down a massive purple banner with the image of a blue fox rampant. The walls were otherwise bare except for the ubiquitous bronze panels reflecting sunlight from the handful of tall windows.

In the centre of the room, her face red and puffy as if she was crying, was Princess Kythaela. She looked like she hadn't slept, with dark, red rimmed and bloodshot eyes. The chair she was sitting on was made to match the King's throne, only not quite so tall, but Kythaela was so small and slender that she seemed a child in an adult's chair rather than a adult on a throne.

Lining the walls were various elves in different courtly outfits, similar the ones we our party had been given the previous night. Scattered among them were Sentinels on guard, watching over the proceedings.

In front of the the King and Princess both was that High Priest, Travaran. He was watching us with a sneer on his face as we filed in to the room, before he turned back to the King. “ Here are the very villains themselves, sire, here to receive your judgment,” he said in elvish, addressing the room as much as King Kindroth.

I blinked and shook my head. Stepping forward, I said, “Pardon me, but am I correct is assuming that means our guilt has already been determined?

Travaran turned back to me, with a smug expression. “We have already examined the Princess to the satisfaction of the court. It has been determined that she is no longer a maiden. Sir Haseth has already testified that he he was not the one to rob Princess Kythaela of her purity, so it must have been your party, acting in concert to pull the wool over Sir Haseth's eyes.”

That's when I noticed Haseth, standing near the King's throne. “That's not...!” he began, stepping forward, but the Prime Minister gestured down at him with her ceremonial spear, ringing her bell. “One more interruption, Sir Haseth, and you will be found in contempt of the King for the second time today,” she said, and the Ravenwatch knight shut his mouth with an audible click.

As for myself, I could scarcely believe what I had heard from the priest. “Excuse me,” I said, stepping forward to address King Kindroth, “But did I hear that right? You examined the Princess for proof of her maidenhood in a crowded room full of all these people? Are you insane?”

The bell rung again, and Caeda pointing her spear at me this time. “It is improper to question the sanity of the King! Watch yourself, human.”

I shook my head. “That's a Gods-be-damned barbaric thing to do, given everything that Kythaela has lived through these past two weeks.” That created a stir. The air filled with angry murmurs from the assembled crowd but I waved them away. “Your Majesty, I'm sorry but this situation makes me unspeakably angry. I have no idea how, as a father, you can allow your only daughter to be assaulted in that way.”

“The purity of the royal line but be preserved, according to the Old Law!” Travaran shot back, “Who knows what manner of unwholesome spawn we might allow into our ranks if we-”

Unwholesome spawn? What the hell was wrong with this guy? “Is this the same Old Law that let you lot justify trying to enslave half the world?” I asked, “I thought you were supposed to be the reformed 'Mist Elves' now?” More angry mutters. I was losing popularity fast, but I didn't particularly care. What I wouldn't do for a few extra levels and the Fireball spell right now.

“Enough!” The King intoned from his throne, “My people are not the ones who are on trial. You have been accused of violating the princess, human.”

I couldn't help but note 'the princess' was the language he used for his own daughter. I shook my head. “Neither myself nor any of my companions ever touched Princess Kythaela in an improper way.” This was true- when it came to a meeting on the waters of a certain lake, it was Kythaela who was touching me, not the other way around. “I am not going to go into details, because she has been traumatized enough by this farce, but I witnessed the aftermath of the assault on the Princess. It occurred during her captivity, and the one who attacked her is already dead, at the hands of a ghoul.”

“You expect us to believe such lies!?” the High Priest demanded, but I ignored him, instead focusing on the king.

“Your Grace, we're speaking of an attack on your own daughter. She has been through hell in the last few weeks, and now she sits here on display as though she is the one on trial,” I said, my tone accusatory, “Please, hasn't she experienced enough suffering?”

The King blanched and looked away from me, shamed by my words. But unfortunately, my words had little effect on the people around him. The Prime Minister's spear was levelled at me again. “You have been accused of perjury by the eminent High Priest Travaran, human,” she intoned, “What say you?”

I could hardly believe my ears. “I was actually present for the rescue of Princess Kythaela and returning her to her home,” I replied, “While your High Priest was here. Your own knight, Sir Haseth, will confirm the truth of what I'm saying. Why would my word not be taken over Travaran's?”

Caeda's eyes narrowed at me, but it was Travaran who spoke. “There is a way of dealing with this, as spoken of in the Old Law. We shall let the gods decide with a trail by combat!”

I gave an aside glance to the High Priest. He had a smug expression, as if he had actually won something by making this challenge. I just shrugged. “Yes, let us allow the gods to decide, with steel alone. No spellcasting to tip the scales.”

“Let it be done,” the king ordered, “This process threatens to drag, and I would have it over with. Choose your champion, human, and they will fight or die with steel and faith alone.”

The High Commander, Sundamar, stepped out of the crowd, and bowed briefly to his king. “It would be my honour to represent the royal interest in this, Your Grace. It is known that I have never had time to attend magical instruction, and I have no spells to tempt me.”

“Very well.”

I turned back to my allies. That was less than ideal, he might actually have real battlefield experience, perhaps magical weapons, too. Most of these elves seemed to be lightweights compared to my party up to this point, but the High Commander was an unknown factor. 

“So, my elvish isn't that good, but I am correct in picking up that this whole thing is a fucking joke?” Voss asked in Common.

“Basically,” I replied shaking my head, “These pro-Storm Elf people really want that princess dead, and this whole court 'process' doesn't make any sense to me.” I glanced over my shoulder, and was relieved to see that the High Commander was pulling on an elven chain shirt but didn't seem to have any other armour. “Think you can take him?”

Yua would probably be best for overwhelming him quickly, but Yua didn't have a magic shield for proper plate mail. I didn't want to just win, I also wanted my friends not to be hurt, and while I could see Yua giving me a hurt look for picking Voss over her, Voss' Armour Class had to be floating somewhere close to zero. Lower numbers being a good thing, in AD&D, of course.

“Beat up some old elf, who is one of these jackasses giving the Princess and Haseth a hard time?” Voss asked in reply, as he strapped on his shield, afteranding off his spear to Sorrel, “You just try to hold me back.”

“Don't try to spare him, though,” Calliope leaned in to hiss in Voss' ear, though it was loud enough I could hear, “The High Commander is at least sympathetic to the elven supremacists, and he will aim to kill you. And remember that it's more than your life on the line in this duel.”

Voss nodded. “I'll keep that in mind, thanks, Calliope,” he said, and then clapped me on the shoulder. “Thanks for believing in me, Theodore.”

I nodded. “Good luck, friend.”

While we were conferring, Kythaela's seat was pulled back to the base of the dais. She was still made to sit in it, but at least it wasn't the visual centre of the room. The princess herself seemed... vacant, staring off into space a couple feet in front of her feet. I couldn't blame her. A lot was resting on this duel, but at least now Sir Haseth was allowed to step forward and stand by her side, and I could only hope that gave her some comfort.

Commander Sundamar stepped forward, armed with a sword and shield and wearing his silvery chainmail. I could see he also protected his hands with some kind of heavy silver gauntlet that seemed out of place- I could only hope that they weren't Gauntlets of Ogre Power, a popular magic item that would give a warrior a significant bonus to hit rolls and damage. Voss walked over to stand across from the Commander, whistling a jaunty tune and lazily spinning his spear with one hand. I don't know if his confidence was real or feigned, but it did earn a sneer from Sundamar.

Right before the match began, the High Priest stepped forward and blessed the proceedings, intoning a prayer to Asanke, Goddess of the Oceans, to watch guide the warriors to fight fairly and may the knight who is most just win, all that sort of thing. I thought it was weird that here, a week's travel from the coast, that the High Priest would be devoted to a goddess that presided over the ocean, but so little of this whole day made any sense to me that it was just another weird thing at this point.

When the king finally ordered the match to begin, both men exploded into action. Voss' reach with his spear allowed him to get in the first two hits- a quick jab of the spear under the High Commander's guard that struck the elf in the midsection, followed by a second strike that caromed off the Commadner's shield in such a way that the lip of the shield smashed the elf in the face. 

The Commander cursed in elven as he realized just how skilled his opponent was, and he retaliated with two savage chops that knocked away Voss' attempt to parry and slammed into the more weakly armoured bits at Voss' armpit and elbow. The viscious blows drew sparks and sent Voss tumbling to the ground- at this point, I realized it had to be true that those gauntlets were augmenting the elf's strength. Even when fighting killer apes I had never seen Voss be driven back like that.

Voss pushed himself up to one knee as the High Commander closed in for another round, and was able to use his lower vantage point to drive his spear up and once again into the Commander's midsection. While the Commander stared at the shaft protruding from his middle in surprise, Voss rose to feet and flicked his spear, biting deeper into the wound and driving the elf back a half step before yanking it free again. At this point, the High Commander was bleeding freely, the blood oozing out around the silver of his chainmail. The only question that remained was, couple Voss outlast him?

When the Commander came on, Voss threw both arms behind his shield to absorb the heavy blow, but the maneuver only left him vulnerable when the Commander reversed his strike to stab in from the other side, cutting deep into Voss' thigh. Voss growled against the pain, and lashed out with his spear, bashing the Commander across the face with the butt of the shaft long enough to back off and get some breathing room. Both warriors were on their last legs, but with the advantage of his enchanted gauntlets, Commander Sundamar was not letting up.

He came on Voss again, slashing with absolutely brutal cuts at Voss, but my knight had learned from this fight, expertly deflecting both blows with his magical shield while carefully backing away, using the shield to redirect the High Commander's strength rather than intercepting them directly. The High Commander grimaced, his fury plain on his face as he pressed forward, pushing Voss back towards the crowd. But even as he was backing away, Voss was striking back, flicking his spear into the High Commander's face, body, groin, forcing the the Commander to only approach on Voss' terms.

And then, just as suddenly as it started, it was done. The blood loss was causing Sundamar to slow. Even though his strikes were powerful, his stamina couldn't keep up. While an almost casual flick of his spear, the one time that the High Commander couldn't keep up , Voss planted three inches of speartip into the elf's throat. Grimly, I was reminded of Calliope's own death for moment, but them Voss kicked the High Commander to the ground, spat on him, and pointed his spear up at the Prime Minister.

“Your Goddess was spoken, we speak the truth,” was all he said.

Limping badly, he returned to our little group, handing off his spear and shield to Sorrel before allowing Raszil to lay on hands. He gave me a pained smile and a nod as if to say, 'I did my job, I'm tagging you back in', so I gave him a smile back.

“It is decided, then,” King Kindroth announced, “By the will of the Goddess Asanke, the humans Sir Voss and Sir Theodore, as well as the gnome Brother Raszil and our own Sir Haseth, are pronounced innocent of the crime of rape against my daughter, Princess Kythaela. High Priest Travaran, you will arrange for the Goddess to bless us with the return of the High Commander as soon as possible. For now, I consider this matter settled.”

“Actually, Your Majesty,” the High Priest said as he stepped forward, a triumphant grin across his face, “The matter is not over. Now that Sir Voss has so kindly proved Sir Theodore's recitation of events to be true, we know have it confirmed that the Princess Kythaela has been defiled by goblinkind.”

I glared at the High Priest. What the hell was the slimy bastard up to now?

“According to the Old Law,” the High Priest went on, “In the case of a royal child being so brutalized, if she cannot be wed and her honour restored within a turning of the moon, then it falls upon her father to restore that honour by force.”

It dawned on me with a growing sense of dread what the High Priest was getting at. “Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding...” I muttered in disbelief.

“What do you mean, Travaran?” the King demanded, “Get to the point!”

“The only way the royal family's honour can be cleansed is with blood,” Travaran demanded, “If someone cannot be found to take responsibility for the Princess in her unclean state, her impurity must be scourged out of the royal family!”

I could only stare in disbelief as the elven nobles around us exploded into noise, some calling for the Princess to be scourged to death. They were talking about an honour killing. Murdering Princess Kythaela for the misfortune of her assault. No wonder her female guards were willing to give themselves up to protect her- they perhaps would have had the defence of relative anonymity, but in this crazy, brutal society being raped could have you marked for death.

Suddenly, there was a tug at my sleeve. I looked down to see Raszil, looking up at me intently.

“Do you want to save the Princess?” he asked.

“Do you know how?” I asked, as the Prime Minister demanded quiet hammering the dais with the butt of her spear.

“Let's just say, Suleyar provides,” he said with a grin, “I think I can save her, but I want to be absolutely certain you're willing to do whatever it takes to rescue her.”

I recalled what Raszil had done to save me from the mob way back in Rhymer's Cross, right after we first met. “Yes, whatever it is, let's do it,” I replied, “We've come this far, I'll be damned before I let that odious priest get his way.”

“You got it,” the gnome replied, stepping forward into the open area before the throne, the tiles still bloody from the recent bout.

“People of the Kingdom of Mist, please, hear me out,” he said, and immediately everyone fell silent, watching the gnomish priest with rapt attention, “While my friends and I absolutely and thoroughly condemn the barbaric practices being discussed today- we have no stomach for things such as trial by combat and considering the victim of an assault to be impure, we do however want what is best for the young Princess whom we have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to rescue.” The gnome turned and bowed to High Priest Travaran. “Excuse me, exalted high priest, but am I correct in assuming that, now that the good Princess Kythaela has been defiled, that a husband of appropriate station must be found for her, soon, or else her unmarried existence is a stain on the honour of the royal family?”

The High Priest glared daggers down at the little gnome. “That is correct,” he replied, “The Old Laws must be satisfied, and so the would-be husband must have sufficient standing to salve the royal family's honour.”

“So I assume, then, that the proposed husband would ideally be another Mist Elf?”

“Of course,” Travaran added with a sly grin, “If such a thing were possible. Even now the girl might be harbouring some kind of half-goblin aberration, so say nothing of everyone knowing that she has been defiled. I wish you good fortune finding someone will to bear such a burden in their own house.”

Raszil nodded along, before turning to King Kindroth. “Your Grace, I present to you an opportunity. There is someone here, who, although an outsider, may make a suitable match to resolve this situation without further loss of life.”

“Oh, don't bother,” Travaran shot back, “A mere hedge knight, even one from a significantly noble human lineage would not be enough.”

“Oh, of course not,” Raszil replied, his grin widening, “I would never even entertain that a merely nobleman would be sufficient to, what did you say? Salve the honour of the royal house of the Kingdom of Mist.”

Raszil gestured expansively, before extending an arm to me. “Your Majesty, it is my extreme honour to introduce to you my good friend Prince Theodore of the House of Esche, heir to the Starfallen Throne of Eschat, and one of the Heroes of Tresens. May he live one thousand years.”

\--------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Detect Magic, Enlarge, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt (2), Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots (2), Darts (23), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Oil of Acid Resistance, Pearl (worth 100gp), Potion of Rainbow Hues, Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Tunic and Hose, Unidentified Gems (5), Unidentified Mint Green Potion, Wedding Ring

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Sorrel (Squire)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	42. Isekai Life & Royal Vow

You could have picked my jaw off the floor. And judging by the mood of the room, I wasn't the only one. The various elven nobles were whispering to one another. I noticed the High Priest himself was just as dumbstruck as I was, shaking his head in denial. Meanwhile up on the dais, the Prime Minister had leaned over to confer quietly with the King.

“That's not possible...” Travaran eventually said. 

“Why, even now Prince Theodore is wearing his signet ring, if you care to check for yourself,” Raszil offered, rubbing his chin with a satisfied look on his face.

I was, at that. I had taken to wearing both my signet ring and my marriage band through all my travels in the Lakelands, because I assumed that this was far enough from home that I shouldn't have to worry about hiding it. Turns out I underestimated the breadth of Raszil's knowledge, or maybe the interest that Suleyar himself had in me.

Whatever conditions that Travaran's Old Laws demanded must have been satisfied by my royalty, because he practically tried to run out of the audience room. I noticed that nobody stopped him despite not being dismissed or paying respects to his king. Soon after, most of the Sentinels, two laden with the body of the High Commander, followed.

Meanwhile, my own companions were processing the news. Sorrel was shaking her head, barely managing to stutter out, “H-h-he's a prince?” in stunned disbelief. Yua was taking it a little better, having had moved up next to me now that Voss was leaning against one of the columns, taking a breather after his fight. But, then again, Yua's estimation might have changed little by the news, I had little idea what was going on in her head, and even less than I thought judging by the night previous.

Eventually, King Kindroth rose, and faced the assembled crowd. “That is all for today, I have serious things to consider in this matter,” he said, waving away the assembled nobility, “Prince Theodore you and one of your attendants may stay, as should my daughter and Sir Haseth.”

I nodded, turning to my friends. “Calliope, take everyone and go see that Voss gets some proper rest and care,” I gave an aside glance to Raszil, “And make sure nobody goes missing. I'll take Yua with me in case of danger.”

Calliope nodded, looking a little pale. “That's certainly not how I expected this trial to end,” she muttered.

“That makes two of us,” I replied with a sigh, “Get going, I think with the High Commander out of commission for awhile, we should be safe enough for a bit.”

Calliope reached over and gave my arm a brief squeeze, before ordering Sorrel to follow her. The fourteen year old farmgirl, laden with weapons at this point, made for an odd attendant as Raszil and Calliope helped Voss limp his way out. The layout of the palace seemed pretty simple, so hopefully they wouldn't get lost.

I couldn't help but notice that Prime Minister Caeda didn't move at all, either. Instead, she was giving me a long, considering look. King Kindroth was simply standing there, watching people file out. As for below the dais... Haseth had his usual stoic expression, but Kythaela was staring right at me, unblinking.

Once the main doors had finally slammed shut, Kindroth sat back down on his throne, and slumped, looking utterly exhausted. He sat there a moment with his face n his hands, and the Prime Minister looking down on his with concern. Eventually, he raised his eyes, to mine and asked, “You have some way of proving that you are who you say you are, yes?”

“Of course,” I said, stepping forward raising my hand with it's signet ring to show the Prime Minister, who had stepped forward to examine it with interest. She took my hand and examined the ring carefully, and from several different angles. Eventually she nodded, and said, “Be still, I am going to cast several spells on you. They are harmless, and you need not be worried.” I nodded, and the Prime Minister began to sing elven prayers, asking the Ysiphine for guidance. I didn't feel anything, but she nodded with satisfaction.

“Well?” King Kindroth asked.

“He has some magical items on him, nothing large. Potions or scrolls, I expect,” she reported back, “And while I cannot discern if he is lying, he is not of evil intent, nor does he have a history of evil actions. I think it's likely, given the presence of the ring, that he is who he says he is.”

I had no idea that she was at least a part-time priestess. She must have cast Detect Magic and Know Alignment on me, given the context of what she said.

The king nodded, satisfied. “My Prime Minister who deals more extensively in such things tells me you are a Prince in exile. Tell me, what brings you here, so far from home.”

I decided to be honest. No sense keeping up a deception now. “My sister and I are travelling the land, gathering people of talent and allies with which to one day take back my homeland,” I told him, “We had made contact in Tresens with a retried adventurer named Ricard Parett, and he hired us in turn to investigate the disappearances of villages in the area. Fighting the goblins and rescuing Princess Kythaela was a result of that investigation, although it is my true desire to not see her killed unnecessarily.”

The Prime Minister seemed incredulous. “You would marry an elf, who will long outlive your short life, just to save her from death, on a whim? That beggars belief.”

“Ah, well... polygamy is a tradition of my house,” I explained, which was technically true, every living member of my family did look forward to practising polygamy. “If a position by my side as one of my wives would rescue Princess Kythaela from this situation, I will do it,” I continued looking over where Kythaela was sitting, “If she will have me as her husband, of course.”

Kythaela slowly rose from her chair and came towards me. But when her mouth opened as if to say something, all that came out was a loud sob. I reached for her and she collapsed into my arms, crying, her sobs echoing in the vast, empty chamber. I pulled her close and stroked her hair. It was a bit of a shock, for her to do something so intimate as seek me for comfort when we weren't all that close, but if it made her feel better, it was fine by me.

“I think Princess Kythaela's choice is clear,” the Prime Minister said, looking at King Kindroth, who nodded in return.

The King looked back to me. “I will allow this, on one condition, Prince Theodore.”

“Go on,” I asked, noncommittally. Sorry, but I'd like to hear your condition first before I agree or not.

“When you have married Princess Kythaela, I will give you her dowry,” King Kindroth explained, “But once that is done you are to leave and not return. You are aware, no doubt, of this conflict between the reformers in my court, and the people who wish to go back to the terrible days of the Storm Elves. It is tearing my people apart, and the farce of this morning was a naked attempt to have me condemn my own daughter to death with my own hand.” He sighed heavily. “I would spare Kythaela from any further harm, so swear to me that once you two are married, you will take her, keep her safe and happy, and leave, never to return.”

This King hadn't really impressed me up to this point, but my opinion of him bottomed out with that. He'd sooner send his daughter away, forever, than fight back against the people who want to turn the Kingdom of Mist back into a raider nation who wanted to kill her? I wasn't a king or a father yet, but I made a silent promise to my unborn children and the people that I would someday rule that I'd do better than this.

“Very well,” I released Princess Kythaela and knelt before King Kindroth. “On my name and my title as a Prince, I solemnly swear that, following my marriage with Princess Kythaela, I will take her and leave immediately, never to return.”

Of course, I had no intention of following through on that vow. Neutral good, bitch. I don't have to take your ridiculous vow seriously if it prevents me from doing good in the world.

“However, I do have two requests of my own,” I said as I rose. If this so-called King was so easily bullied, I decided to take advantage of that.

“What is it that you require?” the Prime Minister asked.

“First of all, I cannot rest easily knowing my retainers and my wife to be are in a palace plagued with enemies,” I explained, “So I demand that you expel all Sentinels from the palace and it's grounds, barring them from entry until Princess Kythaela and I are married. The Ravenwatch exists to protect the royal house, the Sentinels should focus on doing their usual duties.”

The King shifted uncomfortably, and the Prime Minister grimaced at me. “There would be... consequences to that action,” the Prime Minister replied.

“I frankly don't give a damn,” I said, cutting the air with a gesture, “They can crawl all over the palace as soon as we are gone. The Old Laws need to be satisfied with a moon's turn, right? If they can't handle not standing in a fancy building for a couple weeks, then they make for awfully sensitive soldiers.”

Of course, the symbolic nature of being kicked out of the palace would burn them, but if this situation gets violent earlier than I expected, then the King shouldn't have any problem framing the Sentinels as insurrectionists or something.

“My second demand,” I went on, “Is that Ravenwatch griffon riders be engaged immediately to retrieve the remaining member of Princess Kythaela's bodyguard from the town known as Rhymer's Cross. No doubt with the Sentinels expelled from the palace, everyone would rest easier knowing that the Ravenwatch are as close as possible to full strength.”

This caused the King and the Prime Minister to exchange glances. “That could be arranged,” Prime Minister Caeda allowed, “Is there anything else?”

“Yes,” I continued, “I require the services of Sir Seran and the griffon Barador, as well as sufficient griffons to transport two other people, for perhaps no longer than a week. I have a small bit of personal business to take care of before the wedding, and I will be returning with one of my retainers to assist in the security of the event.”

King Kindroth seemed to hesitate, so I stepped forward, putting one foot on the dais. “I took your vow without hesitation, even if it is inconvenient for me not to make an ally out of this situation,” I said, letting a little threat creep into my voice, “Surely you can do this much for me, King Kindroth.”

There was a long moment, then the king waves his hand. “Very well, it will be done, you have my promise.”

“Good,” I said as I stepped back, “I hope that the Sentinels will be out of the way within the day.” I took Princess Kythaela by the hand, and when I I did she seemed surprised for a moment, before squeezing my hand back. “I will take the Princess back to my retainers, so we can discuss what preparations need to be made. Sir Haseth, will you please come along to chaperone.”

I didn't even wait for the king to respond, instead I turned about and walked out. It was arrogant of me, sure, but if Kindroth was offended maybe it would put a little more spine in his back.

Once we were outside the throne room, I was happy to see that the only people waiting without were the two members of the Ravenwatch who had been tasked with guarding the door. I turned to Kythaela and let go of her hand. “Sorry about all that,” I said, “You didn't deserve any of it, and I wish I could have avoided having you in that situation.” 

The princess shook her head. “You were not the ones who... who brought all that stuff up, and made those accusations,” she said thickly as she looked away, staring off into the distance again. “Now you see why I thought I was going to die....” she trailed off into silence.

“I told you, I don't want you to die,” I said, producing a handkerchief from an inner pocket and handing it to her, “Go on and clean up a bit, blow your nose.”

While Kythaela turned away to do that with her back to me, Haseth stepped forward and bowed to me. “Thank you so much, Prince Theodore. I am so grateful that you've stepped up and taken responsibility for my charge.”

His voice was a little thick, too, so I guess Kythaela wasn't the only one who was on the verge of tears.

“Let's just get back to the guest rooms, please,” I said, trying not to sound dismissive, “There's a lot for us all to discuss, and I want everyone to be on the same page for once.” After all, if Raszil already blew my secret about being a prince, I may as well just come clean about everything. At least way I'd have to stop explaining myself over and over.

When we returned to the guest area, Siora was waiting in the hall for us, and gave me and Kythaela a curtsy when we appeared out of the stairway. “You knight and retainers are waiting for you in Sir Voss' room,” she said as she bobbed, but before I could reply, Kythaela dashed forward and threw her arms around the maid, hugging her tight.

Siora didn't seem surprised, although she blushed a little, and stroked Kythaela's hair comfortingly. “I'm happy that you made it, Ky,” I heard her whisper.

“I'm glad to be home, Si,” Kythaela replied, sounding like she was about to cry again, “I'm sorry for making you worry.”

“You're back, and that's all that matters.” Siora let the Princess go and stepped back, “This is no time for a reunion, though. Time to be a princess, right?”

Kythaela nodded glumly. “Always, it seems,” she said, before turning back to me. “Siora and I grew up together, she's my closest friend, and I trust her like I trust Haseth. That's why I asked her to take care of you and your party personally.”

“Ah, thank you,” I replied, as Siora offered a second curtsy.

We headed inside Voss' room, where my remaining companions were gathered in the sitting room. Even Raszil, who I expected might have tried to run off. I greeted them all, and and herded everyone into Voss' bedroom, where the man was resting at his ease.

“Thanks to Brother Raszil's healing, I did not need to do much,” Siora reported, “But I have some skill in nursing, so I'll make sure his bandages get changed and he's properly taken care of.”

I nodded, although Raszil might finish topping off Voss' HP tomorrow. “Good job, Voss, I'm seriously impressed with your skill at fighting.”

Voss grinned at me. “I think I got lucky, more than anything. With that's guy's strength, he should have taken me seriously from the start. He would have finished me right off.”

I gave me a nod and a smile. “Lucky or not, thank you for fighting so hard for all our benefit,” I replied, “Now, we need to catch everyone up so we're all on the same page.”

I started from the beginning, explaining who Katriana and I were, where we had come from, how we had met Calliope, Voss, Ashryn and Enna. Calliope jumped in briefly to explain what happened to her after I left the magic academy and before we met up again, which wasn't super interesting but it was nice to know, to fill out the story, I suppose. But when I got to explaining everything that happened at the arena....

“Malgarath!?” Yua replied incredulously.

“You know about Malgarath?” Calliope asked, surprised.

“The Dragon God of Destruction?” Yua replied, “Yes, he is familiar to me. He is part of the pantheon of gods my people worship, although this 'Dragonslayer Leyneid' is not known to me.”

“That's 'Reyneid',” Raszil corrected, “Although it's a little hard to believe that you managed to kill any god, dragon or not, regardless of how weakened they are.”

“I thought as much,” Calliope replied, “It seems to me that it might be a situation where Malgarath returned to where he was sealed, or was banished temporarily somehow.”

“Perhaps,” Raszil replied, stroking his chin thoughtfully, “I'll have to look into it, perhaps collaborate with this girl, Ashryn?”

I didn't know that would be useful, given how ditzy Ashryn could be, but I tried to dismiss the thought. Going back over all of this made me realize just how much I missed Katriana, Ashryn, even Enna and Bekkar. I took a deep breath and pressed on, explaining how Katriana and I got married.

“Aw, gross!” Sorrel, cried out, “Your own sister?”

“It is not so unusual, when a royal family is reduced to a few members,” Haseth said with a nod, “Our own royal family married niece to uncle once, shortly after the fall of the old empire, in order to ensure that the royal bloodline stopped branching.”

“Wouldn't branches make for a stronger royal family, though?” the young squire asked, “I mean, if a man dies with no children, then his sister can inherit the farm and keep providing crops, right? Otherwise people might starve.”

“You're not thinking about it politically, child,” Raszil explained, “In the case of the Kingdom of Mist, probably what would have happened otherwise is that the uncle would marry and make one branch, and the niece another, and then their children could get to fighting over the throne. Better to make it one branch to provide stability, or you might end up with a civil war one generation later while your country is still recovering.”

I never thought of it that way, but it made a bit of sense. I just shrugged it off and persisted, explaining about our travels through the mountains, our rescue of Yua, and finally our arrival in Pendleton and receiving our mission from Ricard and Mia.

“Ah!” Calliope said suddenly, “Wait, our information doesn't match up. Didn't Ricard say that the villages we heard about were simply abandoned?”

I thought about it a bit. “It could be that there's a bit of confused information in the mix,” I finally said, “Where I grew up, there's a children's game that involves standing in a line and whispering a story from person to person, and seeing how it changes and mutates as it gets passed along. If Ricard had second- or third-hand information, it could have just gotten confused or exaggerated at some point.”

Calliope nodded. “Still, let's be careful, there might be even more problems on top of the goblins and whatever the Storm Elves are doing.”

Finally, we got to Rhymer's Cross. I explained about how we spent most of the trip north fleeing from goblin raiders, and what all happened when we got to the little town.

“And I,” I added, looking at Raszil, “Would be very grateful if you told me how you knew I was a prince.”

Raszil grinned. “You wear that signet ring everywhere you go. I knew who you were the second we shook hands, my prince,” he sketched a mocking bow, “Although I didn't work out most of the other details, including you marrying your sister, til that night us and Voss were drinking with Big Dap.”

From here, Haseth jumped in, explaining about how Princess Kythaela and Prince Falaen learned about what was happening to the human villages from the few peddlers who ostracized themselves to do the small amount of trading the Kingdom of Mist required with outsiders. The Princess was moved to do something, anything, to help and sent out her bodyguard to find out what was going on. When she learned about the goblins, that's when she planned her disastrous attack on the coastal tower. 

“I'm... not much of a tactician, I suppose,” she confessed with a sigh, “I got so many people killed....” 

Haseth put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “We have not made war in a generation, my lady,” he said soothingly, “None of us had the expertise to do any better.”

“Besides, we may make something of this situation yet,” Siora added, before offering us all a smile, “IF you'll pardon me, I should go see to your meal arrangements.”

Suddenly I realized how hungry I was. I hadn't eaten since the dinner we had the night before, and that was mostly fruit and cheese. The lack of pain present in my “Heaven” certainly made it easy to skip mealtimes.

So, I went on to explain about hunting goblins, the death of Calliope, meeting Haseth and Seran, and the second attack on the tower. From there, Calliope took over again, telling us all about being raised in the temple to Asanke in the Kingdom, her experiences with the priests, and how the Court Wizard Ailluin had looked after her, making sure that her stay in the palace was as free of harassment as possible.

“You really should sit down with Ailluin at some point, Theodore,” she explained, “He really is a nice guy, though he comes off as disingenuous at first.”

“Yes, we should all sit down with Ailluin and Falaen at some point,” Kythaela added, “We three are the main reformists in my father's court, and it would do well for us to coordinate... whatever it is that we're going to do.”

“Well, that's a good question, then,” Voss said from the bed, “What exactly are we going to do?”

“Well, part of why I wanted to catch everyone up is because I do have a plan,” I said, “Hopefully, one that will put us on the footing we need to bring the fight to the Storm Elf faction, stop the attacks on the human villages, and keep Princess Kythaela safe.”

“The first step is retrieving the Ravenwatch from Rhymer's Cross. That will give us six Ravenwatch we know are loyal to Princess Kythaela, including Haseth and Seran, two of whom are also mages. That almost doubles our current manpower, in terms of front line fighters and magic users, not counting anyone loyal to Ailluin and Prince Falaen, of course.

“Second, I will take Seran and two other griffons and return with Raszil to Pendleton. Ricard and Mia deserve to be caught up on the situation, who may have some other support they can offer us, plus there I will retrieve Enna and bring her back here.”

Voss laughed and clapped his hands. “These Storm Elves won't see what hit 'em, with Enna around,” he said with a grin, “It'll be nice to see her again.”

“This Enna must be an accomplished warrior,” Haseth mused.

I nodded. “She'll be a major asset to us here. Anyway, while we're gone, I want Calliope, Sorrel, Yua and Voss to return to Temple Meadow. You're going to go hunting for me.”

Yua frowned. “Hunting...?”

“When we passed through town, there were signs of ghouls feasting upon the dead inhabitants. They deserve better. Also, I want you guys to check out the ruins of the temple there, there could be some relic or something that might turn out to be useful. Until we return it to another temple, of course,” I added hastily, “Just make sure that you check carefully, the ghouls and the village ruins alike, for anything magical we could use.”

I also wanted Calliope to get caught up in experience, but I couldn't explain that. Also, having a place where we could feasibly “farm” ghouls was pretty huge, as they were listed in the Dungeon Master's Guide as being Treasure Type T- that is, each ghoul inexplicably carried between one and four magical scrolls, which could be an incredible boon to what we were trying to do.

“Just be careful, ghouls are serious business, alright?” I asked.

“It's not ghouls that worry me, it's the Sentinels,” Calliope pointed out, “Only Kythaela got us past the border last time, and they might take the opportunity to hunt us down.”

“Take the griffons,” Kythaela said, “They're stabled on the ground of the palace, and Prince Theodore made my father kick all the Sentinels out of the palace until the wedding. You won't even have to cross paths with a Sentinel, and you'll have four Ravenwatch knights to help you if you get in trouble.”

Not that the Ravenwatch have proven super competent by this point... but that wasn't a terrible idea. I turned to Kythaela. “Just so you know, once we're gone from here, I plan to give you back your dowry,” I explained, “From there, you can do as you like, but I don't intend to hold you to a marriage since you've only known me for a little over a week.”

The princess nodded thoughtfully. “There is a lot to do between now and then,” she said after a moment, “Perhaps, if we prove to be incompatible, I'll take you up on that.”

Good enough for now. Actually marrying her just to save her life didn't seem like a great way to start a relationship, but at least she knew that I'd release her without complaint at her request.

“Alright, so that's a lot of preparation,” Sorrel said, “But what are we actually going to do once that's all done?”

I took a deep breath. “First we capture one,” I said simply, “Then, we find out how they're destroying towns, and we disarm them. And after that, we bring them to justice.”

\--------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Detect Magic, Enlarge, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Backpack, Bag of Fine Sand, Belt (2), Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots (2), Darts (23), Hand Mirror, Hat, Hooded Lantern, Oil of Acid Resistance, Pearl (worth 100gp), Potion of Rainbow Hues, Robes (3), Signet Ring, Small Tent, Tunic and Hose, Unidentified Gems (5), Unidentified Mint Green Potion, Wedding Ring

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Sorrel (Squire)

Elsewhere: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage)

Sexual Partners: 5

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


	43. Isekai Life & Homecoming

I was standing in the window of my room, sipping a cup of tea provided by Dara, watching the thirty or so Sentinels getting escorted out of the palace gates by a relative handful of Ravenwatch. Despite their politics, the Sentinels were at least leaving obediently. Some appeared confused, others were yelling angrily, and I silently reminded myself that it's entirely possible that some of the Sentinels were decent people, just as it was possible that some of the Ravenwatch were Storm Elves. Just removing the Sentinels from the palace was a useful shorthand, given how thick they seemed to be with characters like High Commander Sundamar and High Priest Travaran, but it did not mean we were out of danger.

The previous day, after our big meeting where I outlined our plan, Siora, Dara and Lewel returned from the kitchen with a big meal of roasted nuts, poached fruit, salad, and cheeses. With the abundance of vegetarian food, but not meat, I had started to worry about the level of protein my human companions and I were getting, so I made everyone pool and share the beef jerky and salted goat from their trail rations. It made for an odd contrast, and I wasn't even certain that my “Heaven” would keep track of these kinds of nutritional details, but better safe than sorry.

After that, Siora shooed off Lewel and Dara so we went over some of the details of the plan, ironing things out. One of the things I wound up was a bit of a shopping list for everyone, to pick up some things that we would all need in the coming weeks.

Unfortunately, Calliope wasn't able to give me a more proper goodbye. We both felt a little weird about having sex the very night after I negotiated an engagement with someone else. After what happened with Yua, I wonder if things would be different if Kythaela was in the immediate picture. Speaking of Yua, the newly-released Haseth was able to task a handful of Ravenwatch to guard our rooms instead of the hostile Sentinels we had the night previous, and I guess she just decided to keep to her own room rather than risk being seen. If she was even interested in anything like that.

And so, I was woken up nice and early by Dara, providing me with a light breakfast and some tea while I packed up and prepared to take my first ever open-air flight in either lifetime.

I turned back to my chest of stuff. I figured it way better to pack lightly, taking only clothes, spell book, spell components, and my darts. I had already handed my gems, potions and other valuables to Calliope for same keeping, so it was pretty simple to get ready to go.

There was a knock at the door, so I called out, “Come in, please.”

It was Dara again. She offered me a quick curtsy, before informing me, “Sir Seran is waiting for you without, Prince Theodore.”

“Ah, thanks,” I said, finishing my packing and tightly fastening down the flap of my backpack. The last thing I wanted was for everything spill out somewhere over the Lakelands.

When I finally stepped out into the hallway, Seran, the youngish elf-knight who I had last seen flying off with Calliope's body, was waiting outside with Raszil. He offered me a bow, which is still something I was having trouble getting used to. It was one thing for Bekkar to do it constantly when were alone, the man had that obsequious attitude, but an elven knight, armed and armoured, was a different story.

“We are prepared to depart at your command, Prince Theodore,” he said, adding, “I hope you found Lady Calliope in satisfactory condition upon your arrival?”

“Well, not right away, but yes, thank you,” I replied, realizing just then that I never ad a chance to thank the elf-knight for taking Calliope away to be raised. I bowed slightly in return. “I am in your debt, Sir Seran.”

“Think nothing of it,” Seran said, rising, “You returned to us our Princess, restored the honour of the Ravenwatch, and rescued a half-dozen of my companions. There is debt to be had, Prince Theodore.”

“Thank you, all the same,” I replied, then looked over at Raszil, “All set?”

Razsil unhappily shook his backpack, slung over one shoulder, as confirmation. “You still haven't told me why I need to go,” he complained, “I left my homeland because I didn't have patience for fanciful things like flying about on griffonback.”

“Well, part of it is because I have need of your skills,” I told him as we began to follow Seran through the halls of the palace.

“And the other parts?” Raszil asked irritably.

“Punishing you for hiding information from me, and shocking everyone in the throne room yesterday,” I replied.

The gnomish cleric sighed loudly. “No good deed goes unpunished.”

“Hey, it might end up being a good time, you could enjoy it,” I replied to that, “You don't know, just give it a try.”

He muttered under his breath while Seran lead us out a door to the gardens behind the palace. I expected them to be breathtaking, a wonder made by the confluence of nature and magic over a multi-century lifespan... but it was basically just more of the same. Not that the Sea of Willows wasn't impressive, but I though it would be different. Oh well.

What did turn out to be impressive was the griffon stables. It was entirely open air, except for some kind of skin or canvas pulled over the stalls to keep off rain. A full two dozen of the massive creatures lounged about, some getting grooming was elven attendants, others gnawing on bones or watching a pair of... cubs? Griflets? Young griffons wrestling each other. Even the babies were the size of full size hunting dogs. I didn't even want to think about what they could do to me, despite being cute.

Barador and two other griffons were set aside from the others, waiting passively as their huge saddlebags were loaded, and two other members of the Ravenwatch were on hand to pilot them. Seran introduced them as Sir Mias and Sir Rowes, although as far as I could tell, they were short, compact women, identical in every way but the face, that for a moment I thought Dog might be recycling NPCs on me like a video game. But then it occurred to me, the best pilots for the griffons must share fairly similar builds. 

“So, where are we headed, Prince Theodore?” Seran asked, as he did one last preflight check of all the various straps and mechanisms holding the complex griffon saddle in place on Barador.

“I'd prefer to wait until we're in the air, if that's alright, Sir Seran,” I offered, trying to be as polite as possible.

Seran for his part, nodded. “It is not my place to press, Prince Theodore, especially considering your betrothal to my lady. Alright, we'll reorient and navigate in the air.”

Seran then instructed Raszil and I on the finer points of flying by griffon. There was a cunning series of straps and brackets designed to hold your leg in a completely fixed position while flying, which allowed you to relax your legs and still remain upright, unlike horse riding where you had to grip with your thighs. “Better to break a leg than to fall,” Seran explained, “Unlike on a horse where it's better to be able to escape the saddle and leap free.” Apparently as passengers, our job would consist mainly of not panicking, and trying to relax enough that we didn't have legs cramps, despite our legs being held tightly.

It was a reminder that I would be flying without a parachute... but, at least I had the benefit of Featherfall. I realized, sudden, that Raszil had neither benefit of experience nor a safety net. Maybe he was right to be angry with me over forcing him into this.

Once the safety lecture was over, it was time to depart. With the help of a stool, I gingerly mounted Barador, the big griffon looking over his shoulder to stare at me disdainfully. I gave him what I hoped was a confident smile before remembering that some animals see smiling as a threat. Schooling my face to be expressionless, I waited patiently while Seran and Sir Mias strapped my legs down tight. It was difficult to try and keep my cool, with the prospect of open-air flying ahead while my legs were bound so tightly, but I don't think I was too nervous.

Soon enough, Seran, too, was mounted in place, and guiding Barador to the open clearing in the garden that served as a launch pad. My stomach twisted as the huge beast got up to speed, massive wings trying to catch the air as he charged forward. For a moment I wondered if we'd ever get up to speed- crazily I wondered if I was too heavy, despite Haseth being bigger and more heavily armed than I was, a bout of illogical driven by my anxiety. Finally, though, Barador found his wind, bearing us up into the sky with great, powerful strokes of his wings.

Up we went, the ground below tilting drunkenly and shrinking as the griffon fought his way up into the sky. We cleared the trees, and I had the sinking feel that we were going to plummet when, finally, the winds that blew free over the canopy caught Barador's wings, and he was able to stretch out and glide, taking a moment's rest before beating his wings for alititude one again. But now that we were free and up in the air, the griffon's previous ungainly scrambling for altitude gave way to a graceful glide, circling around the launch pad.

We circled the palace grounds in ever-widening circles, as the other two griffon riders, first one and then the other, climbed up into the sky with us. I couldn't tell which was which, except that one of the tiny, toylike griffons in the distance had two figures n it's back instead of one. With nothing else but the occasional bird in the sky, it was easy to keep track of where each other was, so formation flying was completely unnecessary, the other two Ravenwatch knights could follow us from miles away if they had to.

“Alright, your grace,” Seran yelled back over his shoulder, “It's navigation time. What is our destination?”

“Pendleton!” I yelled over the wind, “We're going to Pendleton, southwest of here!”

Seren gave me a thumbs up by way of acknowledgement, heeling Barador around in a wide arc, orienting himself before taking us out over the Sea of Willows, leaving the palace behind. The trees rushed by beneath us, as we came out of the hills and over the greater Lakelands. Huge swathes of green clustered here and there, divided by the silvery ribbons of the rivers dividing them up. Here and there the trees broke up for a town and it's surrounding farmland, or an isolated homestead, but for the most part it was like the surface of green pottery where the cracks had been filled by silver.

Watching the scenery go by, feeling the wind in my hair was supremely relaxing. My stress drained away, all of it. Not just my anxiety over flying, but everything- the goblins, Princess Kythaela, the storm elves... my worries drained away as I watched the trees and farmsteads go by. I came to realize that I was really going to visit two of the women I loved deeply, that I hadn't seen in weeks. I needed Katriana and Ashryn, badly. Everything since we left Pendleton has ended up so fucked up, all I wanted right now was to hold my wife and my wife to be in my arms.

It was lost in the passing landscape when Seran began circling down onto the grassy fields around an ancient, abandoned farmstead. It was a little disconcerting seeing the ground coming up so fsat, but it seemed at the last possible second, Barador started flapping his great wings, hovering in place for a moment, before setting down on all fours. Sir Seran undid the clasps holding his legs in place, and slipped off. “We'll break for midday, give the beasts a rest,” he explained, as the other two griffons landed elsewhere on the field nearby, “With good wind, we should reach Pendleton by nightfall.”

“Really?” I asked with surprise, as Seran undid my own bindings, “It took us days to reach Rhymer's Cross, we're really going to reach Pendleton in a single day?”

Seran laughed. “I was wondering why you said you wanted us for a week. Flying is faster by far, your grace. Then you can take your time conducting your business.”

That did sound pretty nice... but I couldn't bring myself to abandon Calliope, Voss, Yua, and everyone for too long, just to engage in debauchery.

We had a brief lunch, chewing on hard cheese and stiff jerky while the griffons helped themselves to water from the farm's ancient irrigation ditch. Raszil seemed to weather his trip just fine, although he still grumbled about the soreness of his legs, but he did seem in a much better mood than that morning.

“So what are we doing here, now that we're all the way out here?” Razil asked while we were waiting for the griffons to finish their rest, “You still haven't told me.”

“Later,” I said with a wave of my hand. I couldn't really explain it to him with the knights still around. I was about to marry their princess, and even if Kythaela and her father knew about my other wives, there was no way their knights would understand if they overheard.

Raszil seemed to understand, eyes darting in the direction of Seran and the others. “Right, well, don't be too long about it,” he replied grumpily.

After taking the time to belted back in place, we were off again, the Lakelands rushing by beneath us. “There is a vineyard to the west of Pendleton,” I explained in a shout, over the wind, “Take us down near there, somewhere where you and the other knights can camp with the griffons for a day or two.”

Seran gave me another thumbs-up. “Understood!” he replied with a confident smile.

By the time we landed again, on the coast west of Pendleton, the sun was low in the sky. I watched the shadows of the griffons race to meet us as we landed on a stretch of rocky beach, the griffons sending up sprays of pebbles as we landed on the shore. Once freed, Raszil and I focus on gathering up our packs, ready to do the hour or two walk to the vineyard from the shore.

“We only have a couple days of supplies for living rough,” Seran explained as his fellow knights busied themselves setting up a camp, “So if you're going to be longer than that, please get in touch.”

We bid them goodbye and headed out, walking through the wild brush between the sea and the Parett family vineyard. It was mostly scrubland, a little hard on our legs but easily navigable, even when full dark came on. Simply head towards the distance window light of the plantation manor, easy enough to do.

“Alright, so, I made a promise to someone that I'd marry them second, when it came to my growing household,” I explained to Raszil, following the gnome as he lead the way through the early night with his low light vision, “So that means, for me to keep this promise, we had to come all the way back here so I could do this before my wedding with the Princess. That's what I need you for. I didn't want to roll the dice that a village priest would understand my situation.”

I could see the outline of the gnome pause in the dark and tun back to me, even if I couldn't discern his expression. “You dragged me, all the way out here, on a griffon, because you needed a priest to carry out a marriage ceremony for your second wife of three?” he asked, incredulous.

“Uh... yeah,” I replied lamely, “Um, it's important to me.”

There was a long moment of silence. Then, Raszil finally replied. “The balls on this kid. Well, if that's how it is, that's how it is.”

“It's not the only thing we're out here to do,” I offered, continuing along after him. 

“Yeah, I imagined, but still,” he replied, “I'm impressed as hell.”

Eventually we came to the vineyard fence, and circled around the property to the gate. Of course, this part of the Lakelands was still relatively peaceful, and the gate wasn't guarded or locked.

“You're sure we're not going to get an arrow to the face for trespassing?” Raszil asked cautiously.

“What?” I asked in surprise, “No, it's fine. I don't think they even patrol their grounds at night.”

We were nearing the manor house at that point, and I was surprised to hear a shocked, familiar voice yell, “Theodore!?”

I squinted against the darkness, and saw a figure, outlined against the brightly lit windows of the manor, jump up from a chair on the veranda, and come running out to me. Katriana practically bowled me over, sending us both stumbling as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling me into an enthusiastic hug.

“Hi, Katri,” I said softly, but didn't get much further, as my sister and first wife seized hold of my face and kissed me deeply. I closed my eyes, and just enjoyed the attention, putting my own arms around her waist.

Ashryn came trotting up soon after, taking Katriana's place, to kiss me firmly on the lips. “Welcome back, Theodore,” she said shyly, “We've been waiting for you.”

\--------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Detect Magic, Featherfall, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Backpack, Belt (2), Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots (2), Darts (23), Hat, Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Companions: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister & wife), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric, fiancee), Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief)

Elsewhere: Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage), Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Sorrel (Squire)

Sexual Partners: 5

Cache at Mist Kingdom Palace: Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hooded Lantern, Oil of Acid Resistance, Pearl (worth 100gp), Potion of Rainbow Hues, Small Tent, Tunic and Hose, Unidentified Gems (5), Unidentified Mint Green Potion, 

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long. Life is rarely ever easy, and with COVID as a complicating factor, it's not getting any easier. Let me just suffice it to say that something had to give for awhile, and that something, this time, was my writing. Thank you for your patience.


	44. Isekai Life & Silver Queen

“Where are the others?” Katriana asked immediately, “Where's Calliope? Voss, Yua?” She looked around, squinting into the dark. “Where's your horse, for that matter? How did you get here?”

Ashryn as usual gave a fairly serene reply. “I'm sure Theodore will give us an explanation if you just give him a moment,” she said, nuzzling her nose against my cheek, “Do you want to introduce us to your friend, my love?”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, breaking out of my love-induced trance. I switched which arm I was holding Ashryn with, so I could gesture at my newer companion. “This is Raszil, he's a cleric who joined us in Rhymer's Cross. He's a good guy, and we've been through some, you know, excitement together.”

“Charmed, Lady Ashryn,” the gnome said, give her a little bow, “And you as well, Princess Katriana. Theodore has spoken so warmly of you both, I'm happy to finally make your acquaintance.”

Ashryn gave him a laugh that practically sparkled. I realized then how deeply I missed her. “It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Raszil.”

Katriana took hold of my sleeve. “It's nice to meet you, sir,” she said to the little cleric before turning to me. “You told him about us?” she asked in a hushed voice.

“Actually, he figured it out all on his own,” I said, putting up my one free hand defensively, “Though he only put it in vague terms.”

“Well, I am very bright,” he said, stamping his feet, “No doubt your lovely sister and betrothed are the meat and mead of your soul, but they are not for mine. But if it's all right with your two fine ladies, my Prince, I would very much appreciate a seat and some refreshments.”

“Oh, right!” Katraina said, shaking her head, “Come along, you two.”

While we walked the rest of the way to the house, Katriana explained that Ashryn had gotten “a funny feeling” about me and insisted she and Katriana spent time that night sitting outside, which was how they came to be right there to greet me. Enna had begged off, saying that she was going to leave her two ladies to be eaten alive by bugs on their own, and Bekkar was already asleep.

I received not quite as warm a welcome from Ricard and Mia when Katriana and Ashryn ushered us into the manor. No kissing or forceful hugs, although Ricard tried his best to shake my hand off. Katriana and Ashryn were full of questions- what had happened, where were Calliope, Voss and Yua, where had we been- but I tried my best to put them off until I had a chair to sit on and a glass of wine to sip. Travelling by griffon was fast and relatively easy, but after clinging to Barador's back all day before walking for a couple hours, I was pretty damn tired. The lord of the house took us into his library, and bid us to seat ourselves on some comfy chairs they kept here for Mia's reading.

Once our honourable guests had provided these things, I gave a little, happy sigh. I was in the centre of a long sofa, with Katirana and Ashryn on either side of me. Raszil had a chair of his own, and Mia and Ricard sat in the nearby loveseat. “Okay, hit me with your questions,” I said, “I'll do my best to answer them.”

“First of all, where are the others?” Katriana asked impatiently, “Nothing terrible happened to them, did it?”

“We parted in the Misty Kingdom,” I explained, “Right now they are guests of the Mist King, though they are only relatively safe. Things are... complicated, there.”

And of course nothing would do at that point but relate the story of our journey north ad the situation with the goblins and elves, for the second time in two days. I did keep to myself the details of why betrothal to Kythaela, though, there was no need to drop that bomb quite yet.

Mia was actually the first to interject. “So you're saying there are two reasons why towns are disappearing,” she asked, “The goblins you defeated, and these would-be storm elves?”

“We can't say for sure if the goblins terrorized anyone but Rhymer's Cross, and we're still looking into the storm elves,” I explained, “But it seems that way, yes. It's hardly the most definitive news I could offer at this point, but we're doing the best we can with the tools we have. There could be a third party involved, but I hope you'll agree that's unlikely.”

Ricard himself started thinking, mumbling something about, “What if there is a conspiracy....” But Mia gave me a firm nod. “Good. I think that's good enough for a partial reward, at least,” she said, elbowing her husband in the chest, “I have something to give you before you head back out, some things that might prove useful, so make sure you don't disappear on us.”

I nodded in response. She probably meant handing me a magic item or two, to help me along... but I'd have to be careful not to discard our entire payment in my greed for magic items. We'd still need gold for getting around, and I didn't really know what Kythaela's dowry would entail. “Thank you,” I replied, “Anything you might give to help would be gratefully received.”

Mia nodded, and stood up. “Come along, Ricard. These children probably want time to themselves, you know.”

“Ah, right,” he said giving me a downright lewd wink as he rose to follow after his wife, “Of course they do, no doubt that have a lot to catch up on. Goodnight, Theodore and company. Mr. Raszil, pleasure to meet you.”

While they were headed off, I turned to Katriana. “So... where's Enna?”

“Probably sleeping,” Katriana replied, making a face, “While she wasn't the brightest student, we managed to get her to learn the basics of reading. But she kept losing focus, I doubt she'll ever be much of a reader for pleasure.”

“She doesn't have to be,” I allowed, “As long as she can read street signs and write notes, that's probably a massive improvement in her lifestyle already.” I've played 2nd and 3rd edition Barbarians before, I knew how surprisingly debilitating being illiterate could be, “But what does that have to do with her sleeping?”

“Well, it's just that, she's been bored out of her mind ever since,” Ashryn replied, “I think she really regrets not going with you all, and when she finds out about   
what happened to Calliope....”

Ah, right, that makes sense. I didn't even think about it, to be honest, Enna was doing the task I asked her to do, so in the thick of everything I didn't wast time lamenting the loss of her skills or her bravery? Could she have save Calliope's life? No one could possibly know... but the knowledge would grate on her just the same.

“Anyway, I'm sure you're tired as well, and we should-” Katriana began to continue, as she rose from the couch, and I grasped her wrist to prevent her from leaving.

“No, there's something we need to do,” I told her, “And I want it done tonight.”

I followed Katriana in slipping off the couch, gently taking Ashryn's hands in mine. “It's time,” I said simply, “Raszil is going to conduct the ritual. We're going to be married.”

The elven girl just seemed confused, shaking her head as if in denial. “What? Now? I don't understand, Theodore.”

“I found someone I have to marry,” I explained, “To save her from the ridiculous laws of the mist elves. I wouldn't be doing it before you both could meet her, except that it's a life and death matter.”

Complex emotions warred on Katriana's face. After all, she was the one who demanded that I not get involved with another woman without her assent. But Ashryn giggled with glee and leapt up into my arms.

“You came all this way to keep your promise to me?” she said, before peppering my face with eager kisses. She gave me one last one right on her lips, where I could enjoy the feeling of her soft lips,   
before she settled back down. “You're amazing, Theodore,” she complimented breathlessly, “I can't believe how lucky I am, to have you work so hard to just to keep your word with me.”

“Well, I love you, Ashryn,” I said, feeling a little awkward, “I want to keep my promises, to both you and Katriana. When keeping one promise became impossible given the situation, keeping all the others was even more important.”

“Well...” Katriana bit her lip, looking at me doubtfully, a sharp contrast to Ashryn's abundance of affection, “You really have to marry this girl to save her? Couldn't... Voss do it, or something?” I could tell she was struggling not to pout, as she stepped closer, just shy of joining Ashryn and I in our hug. “I wanted to be able to approve of everyone we brought into our family, and now you're saying you're marrying this girl without us even meeting her.”

I nodded. “You're right, I did promise that, but there really are extraordinary circumstances at play, here,” I said, moving slightly to put an arm around my sister's waist and pull her in. “Her life is in danger, for reasons that are too complex to explain quickly, and more than a little confounding from our perspective. I could barely accept it myself when I finally figured it all out.” I sighed, nuzzling the top of Ashryn's head, inhaling the sweet scent of her silver hair. “But... alright. If you still say 'no', that will be that, and I'll try to figure some other way out of this mess.”

Katriana shook her head, pushing my arm away, before crossing her own. “You can't do that! You can't just tell me someone's life is on the line and then say you'll let me be selfish if I want.” She looked at her feet shifting uncomfortably. “If you said it's life or death that you have to marry this girl, then fine, marry her. But... you owe me one, Theodore. You owe us both, for breaking the rules.”

I wondered for a moment just what exactly that meant, but but at least she was accepting it. I gave her a nod. “Yes, of course,” I assented, “And I'm sorry for this. I really don't intend to push the rules so often, but right now... this is how it's got to be, for now.”

Ashryn giggled. “I know you're just trying to be protective of our little family,” she said, so casually it almost made you forget that our 'little family' was already going to include four wives and two children, “But it's fine. Theo has good judgment, he wouldn't take on a wife that would disrupt things or be a bad influence on him.” She released me, wrapping her arms around the other woman's middle and went on tiptoe to plant a soft kiss on Katriana's lips. I shifted my feet, wondering exactly what these two had been up to during my absence. “Really, Katri, it'll be okay,” she said softly, looking up and batting her eyes at the taller woman.

Katriana sighed, and looked at me. “Sorry, Theodore, it's just.. this relationship of ours is so unusual. We're all breaking new ground here. I just... want to be a little more confident of my footing. I do trust your judgment, really.”

I smiled. It seemed I wasn't the only one who was weak to Ashryn's smile. “I understand completely, Katriana, and I'm sorry,” I said reaching out to give her a reassuring squeeze of the arm.

I jumped halfway out of my skin when Raszil cleared his throat. “You're all very adorable,” he said, “But it is very late. If you want this marriage to happen, I'd like to do it before I drop dead of exhaustion, if you please.”

I broke away from my wife and my bride. “Alright, what do we need?” I asked, wondering just what this ritual would require.

Raszil shrugged. “Suleyar is not a god who often stands on ceremony. I am here, the couple to be married are here, and only their closest family. We will have the rite done in darkness, lit only by a single candle, and when it's done none of the three of you will speak of the ritual, not even to each other, except to say that it was done, and I conducted it. That is all.” Razil looked at each of us in the eye, before nodding to Katriana. “Douse the lamps, if it pleases you, your highness? I am but a small man, after all, and could use assistance in this matter.”

It took only a few moments for Katriana to douse the various lamps that lit the small library, while I had to fetch a candle. When the library was lit only by a single candle, everything looked rather ominous. Soon enough, we were married.

Don't pout. The ritual was secret. I can only tell you that we were married and that Raszil performed the ceremony.

When we were done, Ashryn sprang into my arms, passionately kissing me again. “I can't believe it!” she exclaimed as she pressed her face into my neck, “You're my husband.” She had another giggle. “My husband. Theodore's my husband,” she repeated, as if she couldn't really believe it.

“And you're my second wife,” I replied, scarcely believing it myself. And in just two weeks more, I'll have a third. The thought made me kind of dizzy.

Even Katriana couldn't keep the happiness off her face. “Welcome to the family, properly,” she told Ashryn, giving us both a hug, “I'll bed down with Enna tonight, so you two can have a room to yourselves.” She turned on us, while for the second time I wondered what precisely was going on between my two wives. “Mr. Razil, I hope you don't mind sharing a room with our elderly butler, but there's a down mattress, a soft pillow and a warm blanket waiting for you if you just follow me.”

“That sounds like heaven,” he said, following after he as she guided him out of the room, “You are too kind, your highness.”

“Well, about that....” Katriana began, but their conversation was cut off by the closing library door.

Ashryn and I just stood there, holding each other, husband and wife. My mind was spinning with thoughts. Was I really going to be able to juggle a dozen wives? Was I going to be able to keep all my promises.

Suddenly, Ashryn sighed, looking up at me and taking my chin gently in hand, forcing me to meet her gaze. “Theodore, my husband,” she said softly, making me look at her, “You have to protect her. I can tell she is surrounded by danger. I've had dreams of a storm coming, a terrible storm. The kingdom can fall, the land can be destroyed, though I know you'll do your best to prevent both. But she must come back to us.”

“Who? Katriana?” I asked, confused, “I'm not taking her away. Or did you mean Calliope...?”

Ashryn shook her head, her silver hair and luminous eyes glowing in the candlelit darkness. “The fox princess,” she said softly, her whisper a faint breath in the darkness.

\--------------------------

Character Name: Theodore Esche  
Race: Human   
Class: Transmuter  
Level (XP): 3 (8153/10000)  
Hit Points: 7/7

Ability Scores  
Strength 11  
Dexterity 17  
Constitution 8  
Intelligence 17  
Wisdom 13  
Charisma 14

Weapon Proficiencies: Darts  
Non-weapon Proficiencies: Direction Sense, Etiquette, Reading/Writing, Swimming, Tailoring

Spells Per Day:  
1st Level- 3  
2nd Level- 2

Spellbook:  
(1st Level): Armor, Burning Hands, Detect Magic, Detect Undead, Enlarge, Featherfall, Magic Missile, Mending, Read Magic, Sleep, Tenser's Floating Disc, Wall of Fog  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Spells Prepared:  
(1st Level): Detect Magic, Featherfall, Sleep  
(2nd Level): Knock, Stinking Cloud

Equipment: Backpack, Belt (2), Belt Pouch (Large, 3), Belt Pouch (Small, 4), Boots (2), Darts (23), Hat, Robes (3), Signet Ring, Wedding Ring

Money: 320 gp, 2815 sp, 7 cp

Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven, Orc, Goblin, Draconic, Dragonborn

Wives: Katriana (Level 3 Fighter, sister), Ashryn (Level 3 Cleric)

Companions: Katriana, Ashryn, Smokey Enna (Level 4 Fighter/Level 4 Thief), Bekker (Butler), Raszil (Level 3 Cleric/Level 3 Thief)

Elsewhere: Haseth (Level 3 Fighter), Kythaela (Level 2 Fighter/Level 2 Mage), Voss (Level 4 Fighter), Yua (Level 4 Paladin), Calliope (Level 2 Evoker, fiancee), Sorrel (Squire)

Sexual Partners: 5

Cache at Mist Kingdom Palace: Bag of Fine Sand, Hand Mirror, Hooded Lantern, Oil of Acid Resistance, Pearl (worth 100gp), Potion of Rainbow Hues, Small Tent, Tunic and Hose, Unidentified Gems (5), Unidentified Mint Green Potion, 

Storage Chest: Alchemical Steel Broadsword, Alchemical Steel Bastard Sword, 299 pp, 2386 gp, 16 sp, 50 cp


End file.
